Figure 3.

IL-17 predominantly produced by γδ T cells and its effect on the development of acute exacerbation of pulmonary fibrosis. (A) Percentage and absolute number of pulmonary IL-17⁺ CD4⁺and IL-17⁺γδ T cells in BLM-treated mice infected with non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae NT127 were calculated by flow cytometry. (B) Schematic of experimental design. (C) Body weight changes in WT and IL-17KO mice after intranasally instilling with BLM, NT127 or BLM/NT127. (D) Representative photomicrographs of lung sections stained with H&E and Masson's trichrome on day 7 after NT127 infection (day 14 after BLM instillation) in WT and IL-17KO mice. Scale bars: H&E staining, 50 µm; Masson's trichrome staining, 100 µm. Data are expressed as the mean±SEM (n = 5 per group), *P<0.05; **P<0.01; ***P<0.001. BLM: bleomycin; H&E: hematoxylin and eosin; WT: wild type; KO: knockout.