Interleukin-19 Aggravates Pulmonary Fibrosis via Activating Fibroblast through TGF-β/Smad Pathway

Figure 1

Expression of IL-19 is upregulated in human and mouse lung fibrosis tissues. (a) The gene expression profiles of two independent datasets (GSE77326, GSE2051) were used to assess the differential gene expression in lung fibrosis tissues. 121 gene expressions were higher both in human and mouse lung fibrosis tissues than controls, and mRNA expression of IL-19 in IPF was significantly higher than that in control. (b) Representative images (taken at ×20 magnification) of H&E, Masson’s trichrome, and immunohistochemical staining of IL-19 and α-SMA in BLM-induced murine lung fibrosis tissues and controls. Scale bars, 200 μm. (c) Quantification of the degree of pulmonary fibrosis according to the modified Ashcroft scale and pulmonary hydroxyproline content. (d) Amount of IL-19 was quantified using automated image analysis of the IL-19 staining. (e) Serum IL-19 expression was analyzed by ELISA in the BLM-induced mice and controls. (f) IL-19 protein expression in lung fibrosis was analyzed by western blot, and (g) relative protein levels were quantified. , , , and .

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