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. 2020 Jan 16;5(1):e131232. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.131232

Figure 1. IL-13 overexpression leads to an increase in the proportion of AEC2s to AEC1s.

Figure 1

(A) Constitutive overexpression of IL-13 from airway epithelial cells in the Scgb1a1-Il-13–transgenic mouse leads to airspace enlargement and a proportional increase in the number of AEC2s (labeled with DC-LAMP [LAMP3]) compared with AEC1s (marked by podoplanin [PDPN] expression). (B) The proportion of AEC2s to AEC1s was assessed by counting AEC2s (DC-LAMP+ cells) and AEC1s (cells with nuclear expression of homeobox only protein X, HOPX) and expressing the results as a proportion (AEC2/AEC1). There are more AEC2s relative to AEC1s in the IL-13–overexpressing mice. Unpaired t test; error bars indicate mean ± SD. (C) Schematic for lineage-labeling AEC2s in adult mice with (SftpcTmIL13) and without (SftpcTm) constitutive overexpression of IL-13 and subsequent pneumonectomy procedure (PNX). (D) Control lungs 14 days after PNX contain many lineage-labeled AEC1s. (E) IL-13–overexpressing lungs (IL-13 PNX) contain fewer lineage-labeled AEC1s after PNX when compared with controls (control PNX) despite higher levels of post-PNX AEC2 proliferation (data not shown and Supplemental Figure 1). Unpaired t test; error bars indicate mean ± SD. Scale bars: 100 μm (A), 75 μm (D). **P < 0.005.