Fig. 2.
Representative immunoblots and total optical density (OD) of protein carbonylation in the diaphragms by group; n = 5 per group, where n refers to the number of animals. The values are means ± SD. *P < 0.05, compared with the group allowed to spontaneously breathe (SB); #P < 0.05, compared with the group pretreated with saline before undergoing controlled mechanical ventilation for 24 h (MV). Comparisons between the three experimental groups were performed using one-way ANOVA. MV-NAC, group pretreated with N-acetylcysteine before undergoing controlled mechanical ventilation for 24 h.