Ameliorative Effect of Thymoquinone-Loaded PLGA Nanoparticles on Chronic Lung Injury Induced by Repetitive Intratracheal Instillation of Lipopolysaccharide in Rats

Figure 3

Representative photomicrograph of the control rats showing normal histomorphology architectures with mild edema and congested blood vessels at 8 weeks (arrow) and normal pulmonary alveoli and septa with minute congested blood vessels at 10 weeks, TQ-PLGA NP group showing activated alveolar macrophages (arrow) besides little acute inflammatory cells in the alveolar lumen at 8 weeks and hemorrhages with congested blood capillary (arrow), LPS-challenged rats showing marked obstructions of pulmonary alveoli due to fibroblastic proliferations and chronic inflammatory cells (star) with hyaline wall (arrow) at 8 weeks, and alveolar obstruction with moderate thickening septa (star) at 10 weeks, and LPS + TQ-PLGA NPs showing severe thickening of alveolar septa characterized by proliferated pneumocytes admixed with chronic inflammatory cells which contain granular nanoparticles (arrow) at 8 weeks, remodeling the pulmonary tissues characterized with clear lumen and nearly thinning alveolar septa which contain nanomaterials (arrow) (H&E, scale bar 100 μm).