Figure 5

Lung Immunohistochemistry for NF-κB p65 protein expression in lung tissues. NV = normal-pressure ventilation with normocapnia; NC = high-pressure ventilation with normocapnia; MHA = moderate hypercapnic acidosis; SHA = severe hypercapnic acidosis. (A and B) arrows indicate the position of NF-κB p65 expression, which was only observed in the nuclei of airway epithelial cells and alveoli of HPV-treated animals. (C) Scatter plot of NF-κB p65 -positive (+) cells (%) in lung tissue. NF-κB expression also increased after 4 h of HPV compared to the normal ventilation group (p < 0.05), but this was attenuated by both moderate and severe hypercapnia. (D) ELISA analysis of total lung tissue NF-κB indicated that the NF-κB activity also increased after 4 h of HPV compared to the normal ventilation group but was attenuated by both moderate and severe hypercapnia. All panels represent a 400x magnification. Horizontal bars represent the median. n = 4 for each group. ^ap < 0.05 versus the NV group;^bp < 0.001 versus the NC group.