Vessel-Associated Transforming Growth Factor-Beta1 (TGF-β1) Is Increased in the Bronchial Reticular Basement Membrane in COPD and Normal Smokers
Figure 4
Phosphorylated (activated) Smad2/3 (pSmad2/3) staining of bronchial biopsies in normal nonsmoking controls (A) and current smoking COPD subjects (B).
Black arrows indicate vessels stained with pSmad2/3 in the bronchial Rbm in current smoking COPD. There are very few vessels at all in the Rbm in normals and those that are there do not stain for pSmad2/3. X 400.