Figure 6.

The fate of inhaled particles and soluble macromolecules. Naïve CD11c-EYFP mice were treated intranasally with E. coli–TR (A and B), crimson-fluorescent polystyrene beads (C and D), or dextran–Alexa Fluor 647 (E and F). Two hours later, the lungs were fixed, the main conducting airways were dissected, and the lung parenchyma was sliced with a vibratome to generate whole-mount preparations. Confocal images of the airway mucosa (A, C, and E) or the lung parenchyma (B, D, and F) were taken to detect CD11c-EYFP⁺ cells (yellow) containing E. coli–TR (red), microspheres (blue), or dextran (blue). Maximum intensity projections of confocal Z-stacks (A-D) or volume-rendered 3-dimensional images (E and F) are shown. Scale bar = 50 μm. Images are representative of at least three independent experiments with similar results.