A comparison of airway pressures for inflation fixation of developing mouse lungs for stereological analyses

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of aPaw of 10, 20 and 30  cmH2O on the estimation of lung volumes and stereologically assessed parameters that describe the lung structure in developing mouse lungs. The data presented demonstrate that lowPaw (10 cmH2O) leads to heterogeneity in the unfolding of alveolar structures within the lungs, and that highPaw (30 cmH2O) leads to an overestimation of the lung volume, and thus, affects the estimation of volume-dependent parameters, such as total alveoli number and gas-exchange surface area. Thus, these data support the use of aPaw of 20  cmH2O for inflation fixation in morphometric studies on neonatal mouse lungs.
Source: Histochemistry and Cell Biology - Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research