Table 1.

Experimental design of bleomycin sulfate (BS)-induced lung fibrosis in a 28-day rat model

Group ID	Exposure	N	Bleomycin dose (mg/kg), Route	Eso dose (mg/kg)	Route	Dosing days	Necropsy day
1	Saline-vehicle control	6	0, IT	Vehicle	PO	10–28	28
2	BS control	10	~4.0, IT	Vehicle	PO	10–28	28
3	BS + eso low therapeutic	10	~4.0, IT	30	PO	10–28	28
4	BS + eso high therapeutic	10	~4.0, IT	300	PO	10–28	28
5	BS + eso low prophylactic	15	~4.0, IT	30	PO	2–28	28
6	BS + eso high prophylactic	15	~4.0, IT	300	PO	2–28	28
7	BS + pirfenidone	10	~4.0, IT	100	PO, BID	10–28	28

Initially, the groups were exposed to normal saline or BS intra-tracheally (IT) and then received vehicle, esomeprazole (prophylactically or therapeutically) or therapeutic pirfenidone orally (PO) for the indicated course.

N number of animals, BID twice daily, Eso esomeprazole.