Figure 6

a): Smad3 expression after irradiation.Cells expressing Smad3 were counted at 40X magnification in four random fields by two blinded observers. The Smad3 positive cell count for each animal was the mean of all eight readings. Increased expression of Smad3 in XRT-WT lungs was noticeable at 1 wk, and which steadily increased from 3–14 wks. This temporal increase in XRT-TG was significantly reduced than XRT-WT (XRT-WT vs. XRT-TG, at 3, 6, 10 and14 wks, * p < 0.05). b): p-Smad2/3 expression after irradiation. For p-Smad2/3, cell positivity was counted at 40X and mean value for each animal was taken. In XRT-WT lung, there was significant increase in p-Smad2/3 expression by 3 weeks post irradiation. With time, the fraction of positively staining cells also increased in XRT-TG animals but the level of expression in this group was significantly decreased when compared with XRT-WT (XRT-WT vs. XRT-TG, at 3, 6, 10 and 14 wks, * p < 0.05). Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.