Study design
All rats were randomized (n = 6 / group) to undergo the sham operation
(group 1) or SU5416 injection with left pneumonectomy (SuPNx). The SuPNx
rats were further randomized for subcutaneous treatment with saline
(SuPNx42) (group 2) or DIZE (Santa Cruz Biotechnology,
CA, USA) at a dose of 15 mg/kg/day from day 1 to day 42
(SuPNx42/DIZE1–42) in the early
treatment protocol (group 3) or from day 29 to day 42
(SuPNx42/DIZE29–42) in the late
treatment protocol (group 4). On day 42, all rats were ventilated and
sacrificed after checking hemodynamic data. The lungs and heart from
each rat were rapidly perfused with sterile saline under a pressure of
100-cm H2O prior to removal. One-half of the lung tissue
was homogenized for protein extraction, and the other half was kept in
10% formaldehyde and froze in 4°C for histopathologic analysis.