Fig. 1.

Piezo1 expression was increased in the lungs after high tidal volume mechanical ventilation. A Representative immunocytochemical images in rats in the sham and HVMV 6 h groups. Piezo1, and DAPI were used as markers for Piezo1 protein expression and nuclei, respectively. Scale bar = 50 μm. B Western blotting and quantitative analysis of Piezo1 protein levels in the above groups of rats (n = 3). C Quantitative analysis of Piezo1 mRNA expression using qPCR in the above groups rats (n = 3). D Semi-quantitative analysis of lung tissues based on the lung injury score and E oxygenation index (PaO₂/FiO₂) in the above groups (n = 6). F Representative photomicrographs of lung tissues with H&E staining (original magnification × 40) in rats in sham, HVMV 2, 4, and 6 h groups. Data are shown as the mean ± SEM. **P < 0.01 versus the sham group. H&E, hematoxylin and eosin; HVMV, high tidal volume mechanical ventilation; qPCR, quantitative real-time PCR; DAPI, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole