Figure 9.

Lentiviral cathelicidin expression reduces colonic collagen deposition in mice with Salmonella-induced cecal fibrosis. (A) Percentage of body weight change of different groups (from day 0 to day 21). Salmonella- or cathelicidin-expressing LV infection did not alter the body weight of mice. (B) Masson Trichrome staining for collagen in colonic tissues. Collagen deposited in mucosal and submucosal layers of Salmonella-infected mice was reduced by Camp-expressing lentivirus treatment. (C) Fibrosis score of colonic tissues. The elevated fibrosis score of Salmonella-infected mice was statistically significantly reduced by Camp-expressing LV treatment (P = .0001). (D) Colonic col1a2 mRNA expression was statistically significantly reduced in the Camp-lentivirus group (P = .0251). (E) Cecal Tgf-β1 mRNA expression in mice with Salmonella infection. Salmonella infection increased the cecal Tgf-β1 mRNA expression (P = .0091), but the increase was not affected by Camp-lentivirus. Per group, n = 6 mice.