Fig. 7: Has2 deficiency in hepatic stellate cells attenuates CCl4-induced chronic liver fibrosis and inflammation.
a qRT–PCR analysis of Has2 mRNA expression in primary hepatic stellate cells (HSC), Kupffer cells (KC), and hepatocytes (HEP) isolated from corn oil (Con)- and CCl4-treated mice. Mice were injected intraperitoneally with corn oil or CCl4 twice a week for 3 weeks. Cells were isolated two days after the last injection. *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 indicate a significant difference versus the Con group. N.S. not significant. Significance was assessed by two-tailed Student’s t-test. b Representative images of HA staining of mouse liver sections. Wild-type (WT) and HSC-specific Has2 knockout (Has2ΔHSC) mice were treated with CCl4 twice a week for 6 weeks (n = 5–6 mice per group). c Sirius Red staining and immunohistochemical staining for α-SMA and F4/80. Representative images are shown. d Quantification of the Sirius Red+ area and α-SMA+ area. e qRT–PCR analysis of Has2, Timp1, Col1a1, and Acta2 mRNA expression in primary HSCs (n = 3 per group). **P < 0.01 indicates a significant difference versus the WT-Con group; #P < 0.05 and ##P < 0.01 indicate a significant difference versus the WT-CCl4 group. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM values. Significance was assessed by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc test.
