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. 2022 Feb 22;9:780166. doi: 10.3389/fped.2021.780166

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Increased basal cells in a rabbit model of fetal tracheal occlusion. (A) Lung cell-specific mRNAs and the relative expression of each in rabbit fetuses with sham surgery, diaphragmatic hernia creation (CDH), tracheal occlusion (TO), or both (CDHTO) were identified. Each data point represents the relative expression of one gene per group (n = 4 per group). This analysis identified a relative increase in basal cell- and a reduction in ciliated cell-associated genes. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ****p < 0.0001 by Dunn's post-hoc test with Bonferroni correction. (B) Immunostaining and quantitative image analysis of the upper left lobe rabbit lung showing a relative increase in the number of basal cells as a fraction of the total cells in TO lung (n = 4–6 per group). (C) The basal cell master regulator p63 was present in conducting airways of control rabbit fetuses largely below SCGB1A1-positive club cells. (D) The relative abundance of p63-positive cells was increased in the lungs of TO rabbit fetuses. (E) Apparent reductions of both alveolar type 1 and type 2 cells were not statistically significant. (F) Immunostaining for the alveolar type 2 cell marker pro-surfactant protein C (pro-SFTPC) and the alveolar type 1 cell marker HOPX in sham-treated fetal rabbit lung. (G) CDHTO lung appeared to have reductions in both markers.