ANXA2 deficiency protects mice from fibrosis and decreases cytokine production

(A) Sectioned lungs stained with H&E (top panels) and Masson’s trichrome staining (bottom panels). Ashcroft score was determined by H&E staining of sectioned lungs. Fibrotic area was determined by Masson’s trichrome staining. n=4–6 per group. Microscope magnification: Σ 200×. (B) The hydroxyproline contents of whole lung homogenates were analyzed to examine collagen contents. (C) Western blot analysis of ANXA2 and key mediators in NF-κB pathway including p65, p50, IκB-α, p-IκB-α, and IL-6 in lungs. β-actin was measured as an internal control. (D) IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, and TGF-β levels were measured in BALF from wild-type and ANXA2^−/− (ANXA2 knockout (KO)) mice at the indicated time points post-bleomycin treatment. n=4–6 per group. ^*P<0.05, ^**P<0.01, ^***P<0.001.