Fig 3. Time courses of pulmonary inflammatory cytokine and growth factor levels following VILI.

ELISA for inflammatory cytokines and growth factors in the lung tissue, (A) interleukin-6 (IL-6), (B) interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), (C) tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), (D) tumor growth factor-beta (TGF-β), and (E) vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Mice were sacrificed immediately after VILI (day 0) or on days 1, 3, 7, or 14 after VILI. Statistical analysis was performed using parametric (one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni’s or Dunnett’s post hoc test) or nonparametric (Kruskal-Wallis test with Bonferroni correction) tests. Data are expressed as means ± SD; n = 4–6 per group, p < 0.05 for * vs. normal control (C), ⁺ vs. day 0, ^# vs. day 1 and ** vs. day 14.