Fig. 6. Allergen-induced airway remodeling is attenuated in Gal-3 KO mice.

Mucus secretion in the airways of control and chronic allergen-challenged WT and Gal-3 KO mice (n=6 mice/group) was quantitated by PAS staining of lung sections. The number of PAS-positive goblet cells was expressed as a percentage of the total number of epithelial cells in each airway (mean ± SE) (A). Peribroncial fibrosis was evaluated by staining lung sections with Masson’s trichrome stain, quantitated by image analysis using Image J and expressed as area of fibrosis (µm²)/µm basement membrane length (BML) (B). Thickness of the smooth muscle layer in lung sections was quantitated by immunohistochemical staining for SMA and expressed as SMA-positive area (µm²)/mm BML (C). The inset in each case shows representative images from OVA-challenged WT (left) and Gal-KO (right) mice at a magnification of ×200. *p < 0.05 when compared with WT OVA mice.