Cftr-KO Mouse

Figure 2. Dental appearance of wild-type (WT) mice and heterozygous and homozygous Cftr-KO mice. In 3-4-week-old mice, the teeth of both WT and heterozygous Cftr-KO mice were a healthy light yellow color. In contrast, the teeth of homozygous Cftr-KO mice were white, which is a typical characteristic of the cystic fibrosis (CF) mouse model and results from abnormal enamel formation and mineralization caused by the loss of CFTR function.

Figure 3. Gene expression detection in the large intestine, small intestine, and lung tissues of heterozygous and homozygous Cftr-KO mice and wild-type (WT) mice (3-week-old, n=3). RT-qPCR results showed that murine Cftr (mCftr) transcripts were detected in the large intestine, small intestine, and lung tissues of both heterozygous Cftr-KO mice and WT mice, while mCftr transcripts were not detected in multiple tissues of homozygous Cftr-KO mice. (Data are presented as mean ± SEM)

Figure 4. Survival curve of homozygous Cftr-KO mice. Homozygous Cftr-KO mice began to die at 2 weeks of age, and preventive PEG treatment could improve their survival rate.

Figure 5. AB-PAS staining analysis of small intestine tissues from Cftr-KO mice (3-week-old, homozygous, n=3)*. The results showed that a small amount of mucus was observed in the intestinal lumen and between the intestinal villi of WT mice (red arrows). Compared with WT mice, homozygous Cftr-KO mice exhibited significant abnormal mucus phenotypes, including the accumulation of mucus substances in the intestinal glands (black arrows), an increase in the volume of goblet cells (green arrows), an increase in mucus in the intestinal lumen and between the intestinal villi (red arrows), and dilation of the intestinal glands (brown arrows). *These results are representative images, and no significant gender differences were observed between groups. The samples were from mice that did not receive preventive PEG treatment. Scale bars: 500 µm for low-power magnification, 50 µm for high-power magnification.

Figure 6. AB-PAS staining analysis of tracheal tissues from Cftr-KO mice (3-week-old, homozygous, n=3). Compared with WT mice, the tracheal tissues of homozygous Cftr-KO mice showed obvious abnormal mucus phenotypes, including dilation of submucosal glands (red arrows) and an increase in mucus substances within the glands (black arrows). *These results are representative images. No significant gender differences were observed between the groups. The samples were from mice that did not receive preventive PEG treatment. Scale bars: 500 µm for low-power magnification and 50 µm for high-power magnification.

Figure 7. AB-PAS Staining Analysis of Lung Tissues from Cftr-KO Mice (3 weeks old, homozygous, n=3). Results showed that mucus was observed in the bronchial lumen of only one sample in the wild-type (WT) group (indicated by green arrows), whereas mucus accumulation in the bronchial lumen was increased in most samples of the homozygous Cftr-KO group. Scale bar: 50 µm.