Fig. 4. AB23Ac protects against airway inflammation and mucin production. (A) H&E-stained sections of lung tissues from the PBS, OVA, and AB23Ac (60 mg/kg)-treated OVA groups. The small navy blue dots around the bronchioles are eosinophils. Eosinophils were rarely observed in the PBS group, whereas they accumulated extensively around the bronchioles in the OVA group (green arrows). (B) Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)/hematoxylin-stained sections of lung tissues from the PBS, OVA, and AB23Ac (60 mg/kg)-treated OVA groups. In PAS staining, mucin is stained purple. In the OVA group, a darker and thicker purple color was observed surrounding the bronchioles compared with that in the PBS group (red arrows). However, the eosinophil accumulation was less pronounced in the OVA+AB23Ac group than in the OVA group. (C) The lung inflammation was semi-quantitatively evaluated; histological findings were scored as described in the Materials and Methods section. (D) Mucous production was evaluated by counting the number of PAS-positive cells (red arrows) per mm of bronchioles (n=5 per group). Values represent means ± the SEM (n=5). ***p<0.001 vs. the PBS-treated group, ##p<0.01, #p<0.05 vs. the OVA-treated group.
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