Figure 13.

Cav-1 gene deletion in mice induces a pseudo-hypoxic phenotype. To monitor hypoxia signaling in vivo, the hypoxia marker pimonidazole was injected in the tail vein of WT and Cav-1 (−/−) null mice. One hour post-injection, mice were sacrificed and the mammary glands and lungs were collected. Paraffin-embedded sections of mammary gland and lung were immuno-stained using a rabbit antiserum to pimonidazole. Slides were counter-stained with hematoxylin. Note that both the mammary fat pads and the lung parenchyma of Cav-1 (−/−) null mice display strong anti-pimonidazole staining. These data suggest that Cav-1 (−/−) mice undergo pseudo-hypoxic stress at steady-state. Original magnification, 40x.