Fig. 8

Effect of splenectomies on bleomycin (BLM)-induced murine pulmonary fibrosis. Outline of experimental design used for splenectomies a. Osmotic pumps containing 200 μL saline, with or without BLM were implanted subcutaneously through a small incision in the back according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Then, spleen vessels were cauterized and the spleen was removed either on day 0 or 14. On day 28, mice were sacrificed and the right lungs were subjected to hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and Masson’s trichrome staining. The extent of lung fibrosis was measured by quantitative histology, according to Ashcroft’s method. Splenectomy on day 0 significantly ameliorated pulmonary fibrosis (b–f). Mice that underwent a splenectomy on day 14 were administered 60 mg BLM/kg body weight to reduce the mortality caused by splenectomy on day 14. *P < 0.05. n = 5 mice/group. SPX; splenectomy