Figure 1

Vimentin contributes to SS2-induced inflammation and injury in the airway of infected mice. Vim^+/+ mice and Vim^−/− mice (n = 3 mice/group) were intranasally challenged with PBS or SS2 for 24 h. A Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of lung sections of infected mice. Scale bar, 100 μm. B Blind scoring of the lung tissue section. Points represent the score of five random fields of lung tissue sections from 3 mice. Scored as follows: normal = 0, mild = 1, moderate = 2, severe = 3 and very severe = 4. Transcription of proinflammatory cytokines IL-6 (C), TNF-α (D), and KC (E) in the lungs of infected mice were detected by RT-qPCR. The expression of proinflammatory cytokines IL-6 (F), TNF-α (G), and KC (H) in the lungs of infected mice were detected by ELISA. Data are representative or are presented as the mean ± SD. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001.