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

Figure 4

Representative photomicrograph of the pulmonary airways of the control rats showing normal columnar epithelium with mild goblet cell metaplasia and normal pulmonary airways, TQ-PLGA NP group showing clear mucous inflammatory exudate intact to the bronchial mucosa (arrow) at 8 weeks and submucosal vacuoles with few desquamated cells (arrow) at 10 weeks, LPS-challenged rats showing partial obstructions of the bronchioles due to thick mucus materials admixed with inflammatory cells (arrow) at 8 weeks and narrow airways due to narrow airways due to mucous secretions pavementing on the surface of normal epithelium lining (arrow) at 10 weeks, and LPS + TQ-PLGA NPs showing little mucus with inflammatory cells (arrow) and still peribronchial hemorrhages at 8 weeks and nearly normal pulmonary airways with clear lumen and still slight submucosal edema and a few lymphocytes (arrow) (H&E, scale bar 100 μm).