Fig. 3: Elevated Dll4 expression in hepatocytes of fibrotic liver promotes T-cell lineage development.

a Liver tissues from mice suffering from liver cirrhosis induced by CCl₄ were collected and qRT-PCR was performed on total RNA to determine the level of Dll4 mRNA. *P < 0.05; ***P < 0.001 compared to the control. b The cell types and the levels of Dll4 expression in fibrotic mouse liver tissue were examined by immunofluorescence, using Dll4 and CK18-specifc antibodies. c Serial sections of liver tissue from different patients (A1–A3) suffering from AIDS and different degrees of liver cirrhosis, and immunohistochemistry analysis were employed to examine the cell types with Dll4 expression and the level of Dll4 expression change in different patients, using Dll4 and CK18-specific antibodies. d Generation of a mouse model with ectopic Dll4 expression in liver tissue by adenoviral transfection; immunohistochemistry analysis was used to examine the level of Dll4 expression between the empty vector control group and the Dll4 overexpression group. Total RNA was harvested and the Dll4 mRNA level was analyzed by qRT-PCR. **P < 0.01 compared to the empty vector control. e The expression levels of CD25 and CD44 on thymocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry in mouse liver tissues from mice with and without Dll4-overexpressing vector treatment in mice suffering from CCl₄-induced liver fibrosis on day 28 after CD45.1 BMT through the hepatic portal vein. The results are presented as mean ± S.E.M. Statistical significance was determined by Student’s t test. Significance between samples is indicated in the figures as follows: *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001