Figure 3.

Quantitation of ASM mass. (A) An increase of ASM mass was induced in the group receiving CD4⁺ T cells purified from OVA-sensitized donors followed by repeated airway challenge with aerosolized OVA (OVA/OVA group) compared with BSA-challenged controls (OVA/BSA group) or controls that received CD4⁺ T cells from sham-sensitized donors and were challenged with OVA (sham/OVA group). (B) The CD4⁺ T cell–driven increase in ASM mass affected small (P_BM < 1 mm), medium, and large (P_BM ≥ 2 mm) airways. *P < 0.05. Error bars represent SE. (C) Illustrative examples of ASM, once subtracted by confocal microscopy. Airways of 2 different sizes are shown for each group. The numbers below each panel correspond to basement membrane length and ASM mass (dimensionless index, ×10^–3).