Figure 5.

Effect of smoking and ERK1/2-siRNA on rat pulmonary vascular remodeling. Sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and anti-α-smooth muscle actin antibody. (A) Representative photomicrographs of pulmonary vessel WT are shown (magnification, ×200). The WT of different groups were expressed as the percentage of total area in small pulmonary arteries. (B) Representative photomicrographs of the muscularization of small pulmonary arteries are shown (magnification, ×200). Blue, indicated the nucleus; red, indicated the cytoplasm; and dark brown, indicated α-smooth muscle actin. *P<0.05 vs. control. ERK, extracellular signal-regulated kinase; siRNA, small interfering RNA; NC, negative control; WT, wall thickness.