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Figure 1. HO-1 siRNA enhances hyperoxia-induced mortality and lung injury in vivo. A) Percent survival of mice given nonspecific (NS) siRNA (n=11) or HO-1 siRNA (n=11), then exposed to 100 h of continuous hyperoxia (O2) (*P<0.05, NS siRNA vs. HO-1 siRNA). B) Lung permeability was assessed by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) protein content in naive mice, mice administered NS siRNA or HO-1 siRNA, then exposed to 72 h O2 (n=3) C) Lung inflammation was detected by BAL cell counts in naive mice, mice administered NS siRNA or HO-1 siRNA, then exposed to 72 h O2 (n=3). BAL protein and cell counts are shown as mean ± SE. *P < 0.05 compared with NS siRNA mice. D) TNF-
and IL-1ß mRNA expression were assayed by RT-PCR in lung lysates after mice were given NS siRNA or HO-1 siRNA and exposed to 72 h O2. ß-actin was used as a loading control. Results are representative of 3 independent experiments. E) Graphical quantitation of TUNEL-positive cells expressed as % of total cells in lung sections (n=3). Data are shown as mean ± SE. *P < 0.05 compared with O2/NS siRNA.
