Fig. 3

IMRCs transfusion treats lung injury and fibrosis time point- and frequency-dependently. a Representative histology of lung sections stained with H&E and Masson’s trichrome on day 21 post-injury. Scale bars, 100 µm. b Immunohistochemistry staining (brown) for the protein expression of Collagen-I (COL-I), Fibronectin (FN) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in mice subjected to different interventions. Scale bars, 50 µm. c Evaluation of fibrotic changes by Ashcroft scale in the murine lungs. The Ashcroft scores were measured in the lung H&E section. The severity of fibrotic changes in each section was assessed as the mean score of severity in the observed microscopic fields. Six fields per section were analyzed. d Evaluation of fibrotic changes by Szappiel score in the murine lungs. The Szappie scores were measured in the lung Masson’s trichrome staining section. The severity of fibrotic changes in each section was assessed as the mean score of severity in the observed microscopic fields. e–g Quantification of the immunohistochemistry staining for Collagen-I e, Fibronectin f, and α-SMA g. Data was expressed as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001