Fig. 3

Effects of PCSK9 inhibition or statin administration on fibrosis and EMT markers in HFD mouse lungs. (A) Paraffin-embedded lung tissue sections underwent H&E, PAS, MT (original magnification: 100×), and α-SMA IHS (original magnification: 50×) staining. (B-C) Quantitative analyses of the fibrosis and peribronchial α-SMA-positive staining areas were performed using an image analysis system. Quantification of EMT markers in the lungs was performed using mRNA expression of collagen 1 (D), collagen 3 (E), and fibronectin (F). The results are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n = 6 per group). Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni correction. *: P < 0.05, **: P < 0.01, and ***: P < 0.001. EMT: epithelial–mesenchymal transition, H&E: hematoxylin and eosin; IHS: immunohistochemical staining; MT: Masson-trichrome; PAS: periodic acid–Schiff; α-SMA: alpha-smooth muscle actin