Table 1.

Mean levels of TGF-β, IL-4 and bFGF tissue expression and mean levels of myofibroblast α-SMA and fibroblast telomerase expression in each studied area. For tissue expression, all immunostained cells were considered to be positive. For fibroblasts expression, only immunostained cells with a morphological similarity to fibroblasts (thin cells with an elongated shape) were considered to be positive. Abbreviations: U, unaffected areas; C, collapsed areas; MF, mural fibrosis areas; and H, honeycombing areas.

Marker	Unaffected (U)	Collapsed (C)	Mural Fibrosis (MF)	Honeycombing (H)	Statistical analysis
TGF-β	9.19±2.16	19.63±5.70	16.48±4.11%	17.08±4.52%	U × C: p = 0.01*U × MF: p = 0.01*U × H: p = 0.01*C × MF: p = 0.13C × H: p = 0.51MF × H: p = 0.22
IL-4	0.0±0.0	3.27±5.48%	14.03±6.02%	7.91±4.04%	C × MF: p<0.01*C × H: p<0.01*MF × H: p<0.01*
bFGF	10.57±6.24	15.50±4.99%	11.62±3.62%	12.21±4.68%	U × C: p = 0.01*U × MF: p = 0.72U × H: p = 0.31C × MF: p = 0.02*C × H: p = 0.03*MF × H: p = 0.65
Myofibroblast α-SMA	0.0±0.0	9.02±2.92%	5.25±5.14%	5.21±2.13%	C × MF: p<0.01*C × H: p<0.92MF × H: p<0.01*
FibroblastTelomerase	0.0±0.0	6.76±1.31%	5.26±1.13%	5.01±1.14%	C × MF: p = 0.04*C × H: p = 0.03*MF × H: p = 0.19

Area (mean ± Standard Deviation).