Reevaluation of Lung Injury in TNF-Induced Shock: The Role of the Acid Sphingomyelinase

Figure 5

Lung histopathology and cell death. Representative HE-stained sections from (a–c) WT mice and (d–f) ASM^-/- mice, treated as indicated above the image. Scale bars 50 μm, magnification 200x. Enlarged sections are shown in the upper right corners (scale bars 50 μm). The center is indicated by a red cross in the original image. Red arrows indicate interstitial neutrophils; black arrows indicate foam cells. (g) The lung injury score was assessed according to [29] by evaluating 10 fields per lung regarding the following criteria: neutrophils in the alveolar space, neutrophils in the interstitial space, hyaline membranes, proteinaceous debris in the airspaces, and alveolar septal thickening. Data are shown as with in the group ASM^-/- sham and in all other groups. , . (h) Cell death was quantified in homogenized lung tissue using an ELISA against mono- and oligonucleosomes and is shown as % per mg lung tissue relative to a 100% control provided with the assay. Data are shown as with WT sham (), WT+TNF (), WT+zVAD/TNF (), ASM^-/-+TNF (), ASM^-/- sham (), and ASM^-/-+zVAD/TNF (). , .