Fig. 3.

Aromatase inhibitor rescues LAM tissue fibrosis and myocyte atrophy and prevents the development of scrotal hernias in Arom^hum mice. Three-week-old mice were treated with vehicle (Veh) or letrozole (Let) for 12 wk. (A) The incidence of scrotal hernia in Arom^hum mice. (B) The area of scrotal hernia in Arom^hum mice. Two-tailed Student’s t test, **P < 0.01. Serum E₂ (C), T (D), FSH (E), and LH (F) were measured in WT and Arom^hum mice after Veh or Let treatment. Statistical analysis by two-way ANOVA with Sidak’s multiple comparison test, *P < 0.05. (G) E₂ levels in LAM tissue. Statistical analysis by two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison test, **P < 0.01. Serum and LAM E₂ levels (C and G) were measured by LC-MS² assay. (H) Representative photomicrographs of Masson’s trichrome-stained LAM sections of WT and Arom^hum mice. (Scale bars, 100 μm.) (I) Quantification of myofiber cross-sectional area (CSA) in WT and Arom^hum mice. A minimum of 1,000 cells in 10 different high-power fields were analyzed in each tissue. Two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison test, **P < 0.01. n = 10 mice per group.