Figure 7. Effect of sub-chronic smoke exposure and 12 weeks of CS cessation on IL-17A and SAA expression.

Male BALB/c mice were either exposed to 6 cigarettes/day, 6 days/week (▪) or sham handled (□) for 16 weeks. After smoke exposure a group of mice was then exposed to room air without cigarette smoke for 12 weeks. Gene expression of IL-17A (A), SAA (B), IL-6 (C) and IL23 (D) was determined by Q-PCR, normalized to 18S rRNA and expressed as a fold change relative to the Sham group. Data are shown as mean ± SE for n = 6–8 per treatment group. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and when significance was achieved a post hoc Bonferroni test was performed.