Fig. 4

Effects of vagotomy or α7nAChR knockout on α7nAChR⁺VE-cadherin⁺ cells in pneumonia at 2 dpi. a Effect of vagotomy on Chrna7 expression in BM cells. The bone marrow cells were collected from sham and vagotomized pneumonia groups at 2 dpi. RNA was extracted and subjected to RT-PCR. b Immunofluorescence images of α7nAChR and VE-cadherin expression in the bone marrow cells. Arrows indicate α7nAChR⁺VE-cadherin⁺ cells. c Flow cytometry analysis of VE-cadherin⁺ cells in the bone marrow from sham and vagotomized pneumonia mice at 2 dpi. d Immunofluorescence analysis of the coexpression of α7nAChR and VE-cadherin in the bone marrow from sham and vagotomized pneumonia mice at 2 dpi. e Immunofluorescence analysis of the coexpression of α7nAChR and VE-cadherin in the bone marrow from saline- and nicotine-treated pneumonia mice at 2 dpi