Fig. 2.
Survival after partial deletion of Abca3. Survival rate was determined in 9-mo-old male and female control and Abca3Δ/Δ mice (A). Quantitative RT-PCR was performed to estimate Abca3 (B) and surfactant-associated protein (Sftpa1, Sftpb, Sftpc, Napsa) mRNAs (C) in alveolar type II cells isolated from adult control or Abca3Δ/Δ mice. Results were normalized to 18S rRNA. To assess the number of type II cells expressing ABCA3, lung sections of 9-mo-old Abca3Δ/Δ mice and control littermates were prepared and immunostained for ABCA3. Numbers of ABCA3-stained cells (D) were calculated as described in materials and methods. Values are means ± SE of 4 animals per group.