Figure 1.

Schematic of the experimental protocol. On day 1, the mice were assigned to one of four experimental groups: 1- saline delivered intranasally; 2- saline delivered intratracheally; 3- LPS delivered intranasally; or 4- LPS delivered intratracheally. On day 2 (in gray), exactly 24 h after saline or LPS exposure, the mice were tested. Respiratory mechanics was assessed with the flexiVent on 2 mice in each group. The bronchoalveolar lavages, the lung wet-to-dry weight ratio, and the histology on lung slices were performed on all mice. The contractile assays with excised tracheas were performed on one mouse tested with the flexiVent and one mouse not tested with the flexiVent in each group. This protocol was repeated 6 times to reach the sample sizes shown in Table 1.