Fig. 5.

Therapeutically targeting of SCF248 using an isoform-specific mAb significantly ameliorated bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis. A: representative histology from 10-wk-old B6 mice 17 days after exposure to intratracheal bleomycin and treated with control or anti-SCF248 monoclonal antibody (20 mg/kg) on day 8 and 12 after the bleomycin challenge. B: the single left lobe was harvested from the normal and bleomycin-treated animals and assessed for hydroxyproline. C: the upper right lobe of the lung was used for isolation of mRNA and assessed for expression of the indicated genes by RT-PCR. D: mice were examined 17 days post-bleomycin treatment for pulmonary lung function using anesthetized and ventilated animals with bleomycin-treated animals given control or anti-SCF248 mAb on days 8 and 12 post-bleomycin instillation. E: mice were treated with IgG control or anti-SCF248 mAb on days 8 and 12 post-bleomycin instillation and examined for c-kit+ cell infiltration by flow cytometry on day 17. Data represent the mean ± SE from 6 to 8 mice/group. SCF, stem cell factor.