FIG. 3.

Maintenance of elastin, laminin, and fibronectin in decellularized lungs is pH dependent. Elastic-Van Gieson (EVG) staining for elastin shows highly concentrated elastic fibers in native lung (A), reduced amounts in pH 8 group (B) and severely diminished levels in the pH 10 and 12 groups (C, D). Alveolar septae are strongly positive for laminin and fibronectin in native lung (E, I). Laminin and fibronectin are generally preserved in pH 8 and pH 10 groups (F and G; J and K), but not in pH 12 group (H, L). Scale bar=100 μm. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tec