Figure 7. Interference of ApoE/LRP1 interaction impairs the resolution of pulmonary fibrosis.

(A) Six-week-old WT male mice were i.t. instilled with bleomycin (BLM, 1.5 U/kg in 50 μL saline). Starting at 4 weeks after bleomycin treatment, mice were administered i.t. COG133 (1 mg/kg in 50 μL saline) or saline alone, once every other day. Mice were sacrificed at 8 weeks after bleomycin injection for fibrosis evaluation. (B) The levels of hydroxyproline in the lungs were determined. (C) Total RNAs of the lungs were purified, and the expression of the indicated genes was assessed by real-time PCR. (D and E) BALF protein was precipitated and resolved by SDS-PAGE. Levels of the indicated proteins in BALF were determined by Western blotting (D) and densitometric analyses performed using ImageJ (E). n = 6, 5; mean ± SEM; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 by 2-tailed Student’s t test (B–E).