Figure 8
From: Cellular and molecular mechanisms of cigarette smoke-induced lung damage and prevention by vitamin C
Apoptosis and lung damage caused by intratracheal instillation of p-BSQ in guinea pigs and prevention by vitamin C. The guinea pigs were given a solution of 150 μg p-BSQ in 200 μl of normal saline/guinea pig/twice a day for 7 days by intratracheal instillation and then sacrificed. Details of intratracheal instillation are given in Materials and Methods. Control animals (PBS treated) received only saline (200 μl). Supplementation of vitamin C (15 mg/day) prevented apoptosis (about 80%) and lung damage (about 85%) in the p-BSQ treated group. In the saline-treated sham controls, administration of vitamin C (15 mg/day) did not produce any significant change in the morphology of alveolar cells or TUNEL assay (Fig. not shown). A, Upper panel shows TUNEL positive cells; lower panel, lung sections stained with DAPI. The number of guinea pigs used in each group was three. Six images were analyzed in three lung sections (2 images/section) from each group (magnification × 10). B, Histopathology (H and E staining) of lung sections after intratracheal instillation of PBS or p-BSQ. Marked enlargement of alveolar air spaces is found in the p-BSQ group (magnification × 20), which is markedly inhibited by vitamin C.