Figure 2

Pharmacologic inhibition of BMP signaling with ALK3-Fc reduces hepatic steatosis. Representative photomicrographs of liver sections from db/db mice treated with vehicle or the BMP inhibitor ALK3-Fc for 21 days beginning at 4 weeks of age. Sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (A). ALK3-Fc treatment reduced hepatic triglyceride levels (B). Treatment of db/db mice with ALK3-Fc reduced hepatic BMP signaling as measured by Id1 (inhibitor of DNA binding 1) mRNA levels and was associated with reduced Dgat2 (diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2) mRNA levels (C,D respectively). There were six replicates in the ALK3-Fc treatment group and eight replicates in the vehicle treatment group. Comparisons were performed using the two-tailed Student’s t test. Scale bars represent 250 µm.