Fig. 3.

Histological assessment of lung sections. 8-10-week-old female Balb/c mice were challenged by intranasal administration of 35 µl of whole HDM extract (0.7 mg/ml) in saline, for 2 weeks. (A,B) Paraffin embedded lung sections (6 µm) were stained with (A) hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) to enumerate cell infiltration and epithelial thickening, (B) periodic acid Schiff (PAS) to assess goblet cells, in HDM-challenged (n=10) compared to allergen-naïve (n=10) mice. Right-hand panels: quantification of mean epithelial thickness and goblet cells/mm of the basement membrane. Mann–Whitney U-test was used for statistical analyses (***P≤0.0005). Error bars shown represent s.e.m. (C,D) Picrosirius Red stain was used to enumerate collagen deposition viewed using (C) bright or (D) polarized contrast, in light microscopy.