Figure 3.

CBD promotes epithelial cell proliferation and inhibits 5-FU-induced apoptosis in mouse tongue tissue. (a) Representative IHC staining of Ki67 antibody for proliferation of mucosal epithelial cells. Upper scale bar, 1 mm. Lower scale bar, 50 μm. (b) Representative images of TUNEL staining for apoptosis of mucosal epithelial cells. Upper scale bar, 1 mm. Lower scale bar, 50 μm. (c) Semiquantification of Ki67-positive epithelial cells in (a). (d) Semiquantification of TUNEL-positive epithelial cells in (b). (e) mRNA expression levels of Bax and Bcl-2 in mouse tongue tissues as measured by qRT-PCR. β-Actin was used as the internal control. Data are expressed as the means ± SD. ^#P < 0.05vs. vehicle; ^∗P < 0.05vs. 5-FU alone group.