Figure 3

Myofibroblast differentiation in the lung parenchyma after CLP. Non-diabetic, diabetic and insulin-treated diabetic rats were subjected to CLP or SHAM (false operated) surgery. After 6 hours, the lungs were washed, removed and processed. The expression of α-sma was assessed by immunohistochemistry, positive staining in brown (arrows) and nuclei in blue (A) and morphometric analysis (B) of stained area in μm², scale bar = 50 μm. Cells expressing a-SMA are indicated with arrows. Elongated cell index (C) was determined in the parenchyma of lung section stained with haematoxylin-eosin. The quantification was performed with an integrating eyepiece with a coherent system consisting of a grid with 100 points and 50 lines (known length). The cells were evaluated at x1,000 magnification. Points falling on characteristic elongated fusiform cells were counted and divided by the total number of points falling on tissue areas in each microscopic field. Ten random non-coincident microscopic fields were evaluated for each group, n = 7/group. Data are presented as mean + -SEM. *p < 0.01.