Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide Reverses Ammonium Metavanadate-Induced Airway Hyperresponsiveness in Rats

Figure 4

PACAP aerosols reduce AMV-induced inflammatory infiltration and colliquative necrosis in alveolar and bronchiolar tissues. Histological analysis of paraffin-embedded lungs stained with hematoxylin and eosin from animals exposed to vehicle (a, b), AMV aerosols alone (c, d) or followed by inhalation of PACAP aerosols (e, f). The presence of edema (asterisks), the enlargement of air spaces (En), and mononuclear cell infiltration (arrowheads) as well as the pyknotic nuclei (P) are indicated. Representative photomicrographs showing the structure of the alveolar and bronchiolar tissues at low (100x; a, c, and e) and higher (400x; b, d, and f) magnification ( for each experimental group). A: alveolus; En: air space enlargement; P: pyknotic nucleus; R: respiratory bronchiole; T: terminal bronchiole; V: pulmonary vessels.

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