RAGE KO mice have a different fibrotic pattern than WT mice.

<p>Lungs were fixed in 10% formalin and paraffin embedded. After H&E staining the lungs were inspected by microscopy (A) and scored according to the degree of fibrosis in each high power field (B and C). When comparing the silica treated WT and RAGE KO lung sections, it is evident that there is a marked difference in the fibrotic pattern among the two strains at both the 14-, 21-, and to a lesser extend the 28 day time point. WT mice have characteristic nodular shaped fibrotic regions, whereas RAGE KO mice develop less dense nodules with a more diffuse alveolar septal fibrosis. Silica treatment resulted in a significant increase in the histologic score for both WT and RAGE KO at the 14- and 28 day time points, and RAGE KO mice had a significantly higher score than WT mice after 14 days (B). After 28 days there was a trend towards what was seen after 14 days (C). Both WT and RAGE KO control treated mice had no fibrosis and therefore a score of 0 throughout (Data not shown). Data are means (±SEM) analyzed by 2-way ANOVA with a Bonferroni post-test. Black scale bars represent 500 µm. (<i>n = 5–6 per group for 14 day time point and n = 3 per group for 28 day time point</i>). * p<0.05 RAGE KO vs. WT.