Figure 3.

Levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and lung damage are reduced after DF2162 treatment. Mice were infected with 10⁴ PFU of influenza A virus and treated with DF2162 (10 mg/kg) twice a day during the first 5 days of infection or with the drug vehicle (carboxymethylcellulose 0.1% in PBS). Control animals were instilled intranasally with PBS (Mock). Levels of TNF-α (A), CXCL1 (B), and IL-6 (C) in the airways of mice were measured. Histological analyses were performed and the histopathological score is presented in (D)—maximal of 18 points (airway, vascular, parenchymal inflammation, neutrophilic infiltration, and epithelial injury). The results are presented as mean ± SEM (n = 5–6 mice per group representative of two independent experiments). **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001 when compared to Mock group; ^#P < 0.05 and ^##P < 0.01 when compared to Vehicle group.