Quantification of mouse lung elastin during prenatal development.
Elastic fibres play a crucial function during the process of lung alveolisation. During the perinatal period, any changes in the elastogenic process during foetal development may result in permanent lifetime defects. In pre-natal life, well-developed pulmonary elastic fibres should favor the pre-natal maturation of the lung and an enhanced alveolisation, which in many species, such as humans begins only after birth. The authors present a quantitative study by image analysis and by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) of the mouse lungs' elastic fibre content from the 15th till the 19th gestational day.
Department of Pathology and Veterinary Clinics - University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, (UTAD) Vila Real, Portugal; Center for Animal and Veterinary Sciences, UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal.
Paula
P
Rodrigues
Carlos
C
Gonçalves
Ana
A
Honório
José
J
Barros
Vasco
V
Bairos