Figure 8.

miR-18a-5p Overexpression Prevents Bleomycin-Induced Sub-pleural Fibrosis in Mice

C57BL/6 mice were treated with bleomycin (50 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection at days 1, 5, 8, 11, and 15. miR-18a-5p overexpressing or control lentivirus were intraperitoneal injected at a dose of 2 × 10⁶ TU on days 24, 26, and 28. All mice were euthanized at day 40, and then lung tissues were taken for histological staining or immunostaining and miR-18a-5p qRT-PCR. (A) Masson’s trichrome staining, picrosirius staining, and GFP immunofluorescence staining of lung tissues. (B) miR-18a-5p levels were detected by qRT-PCR. (C) Changes in collagen percentages in the lung tissues according to (A) (n = 4). *p < 0.05 versus control; ^#p < 0.05 versus vector control.