Fig. 5.

Mucus expression in lung tissues in wild-type (WT) [interleukin (IL)-18^+/+] and IL-18-deficient (IL-18^−/−) mice sensitized and exposed to ovalbumin (OVA). As described in Materials and methods, the mice were sensitized and exposed to phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or OVA for 12 weeks. Airway remodelling in lung tissues was determined by staining with periodic acid Schiff's reagent (PAS) (a). Trans-sectional images of bronchioles with diameters of 150–200 µm were examined. The mucus expression was quantified by counting the numbers of PAS-positive and -negative cells in the epithelium of each bronchiole (b) in at least 10 bronchioles per slide. Data are expressed as means ± standard deviation. **P < 0·01 versus IL-18^+/+ mice sensitized and exposed to PBS; ^##P < 0·01 versus IL-18^−/− mice sensitized and exposed to PBS;^††P < 0·01 versus IL-18^+/+ mice sensitized and exposed to OVA.