Bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mouse lungs.

<p>(A) Images of lungs from mice that were either subject to nasal administration of methylene blue (right) or not (left). (B) Fold changes in <i>Col1a1</i> mRNA showed a peak one week after bleomycin administration. (*P<0.05) (C) Histological staining by HE and Masson’s trichrome showed pronounced diffuse fibrosis in the lungs three weeks after bleomycin administration.</p

miR-29b protects fibrotic responses in NIH/3T3 cells induced with TGF-β without activating TLRs.

<p>(A) <i>Col1a1</i> mRNA expression in NIH/3T3 cells was reduced after transfection with miR-29b Psh-match compared with cells treated only with TGF-β. The degree of reduction in <i>COL1A1</i> expression induced by miR-29b Psh-match transfection was greater than that induced by either miR-29b scrambled control or miR-29b mimic (Fig 2A) (*P<0.05). (B) miR-29b Psh-match does not induce TLR signaling activity. TLR signaling activity was measured using an NF-κB reporter in which luciferase cDNA was placed under the control of the κB response element. The dsRNA and ssRNA induce the activation of NF-κB through TLR3 and TLR7, respectively.</p

miR-29b Psh-match suppresses pulmonary fibrosis in mice to a greater degree than miR-29b mimic.

<p>(A) In bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibroblast model mice, quantitative real-time PCR data indicates an increase in <i>Col1a1</i> mRNA expression. Expression of <i>Col1a1</i> decreased in the lungs of mice administered with miR-29b Psh-match relative to mice administered with either PBS, miR-29b scrambled control, or miR-29b mimic (*P<0.05). (B) HE and Masson’s trichrome staining showed the pronounced diffuse fibrosis on the lungs in the bleomycin-treated mice. Administration of miR-29b Psh-match suppressed pulmonary fibrosis in an established mouse model of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis (*P<0.05). High magnification images of the lungs of mice administered with either miR-29b mimic or Psh-match mice are shown in the frames. (C) Hydroxyproline content was measured as micrograms of hydroxyproline per weight in grams of the left lung’s tissues in mice.</p