Fig 2: PIM2 inhibition increased the expression levels of FOXP3 and IL-10. (A) BALF concentrations of FOXP3 in each group. Concentration of IL-10 in (B) BALF and (C) serum in each group. Concentration of TGF-ß1 in (D) BALF and (E) serum in each group. *P<0.05 and **P<0.01 vs. control group; #P<0.05 vs. OVA group. n =5 per group. PIM2, proviral integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus 2; FOXP3, forkhead box protein 3; IL, interleukin; BALF, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; TGF, transforming growth factor; OVA, ovalbumin.

Fig 3: Expression of IL-4 and IL-5 was not affected by PIM2 inhibition in asthmatic mice. Concentration of IL-4 in (A) BALF and (B) serum in each group. Concentration of IL-5 in (C) BALF and (D) serum in each group. *P<0.05 vs. control group. n=5 per group. IL, interleukin; PIM2, proviral integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus 2; BALF, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; OVA, ovalbumin.

Fig 4: PIM2 inhibition resulted in attenuated asthma symptoms, improved airway hyper-responsiveness and reduced airway-infiltrated eosinophils and neutrophils in asthmatic mice. Serum concentrations of (A) PIM2 and (B) OVA-specific IgE were determined in the indicated groups. (C) Changes in lung compliance, indicated as Cdyn, in response to increased doses of Ach. (D) Asthma symptom score during the 3 challenge days. (E) Total number of leukocytes in BALF. (F) Percentages of different leukocyte types in BALF. *P<0.05, **P<0.01 and ***P<0.001 vs. control group; #P<0.05 and ##P<0.01 vs. OVA group. n=5 per group. PIM2, proviral integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus 2; OVA, ovalbumin; Cdyn, dynamic lung compliance; Ach, acetylcholine; BALF, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.

Fig 5: H&E staining and IHC of lung tissues from each group. (A) Representative images of lung tissue following H&E staining (magnification, ×100) and IHC (magnification, ×200) for PIM2 and FOXP3. (B) Quantitative results of H&E staining evaluating lung tissue inflammation. (C) Quantitative results of IHC for PIM2 and FOXP3. *P<0.05 and ***P<0.001 vs. control group; #P<0.05 and ##P<0.01 vs. OVA group. n=5 per group. H&E, hematoxylin and eosin; IHC, immunohistochemistry; PIM2, proviral integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus 2; FOXP3, forkhead box protein 3; OVA, ovalbumin; OD, optical density.