Figure 4
From: Reversal of established liver fibrosis by IC-2-engineered mesenchymal stem cell sheets
MMP-14 plays an important role in the anti-fibrotic effect of IC-2 sheets. (A) Downregulation of MMP-1 or MMP-14 expression through small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection in IC-2 sheets was confirmed by western blotting. (B) Micrographs of Azan (upper) and Sirius red (lower) staining on the sixth day after transplantation in liver tissues transplanted with IC-2 sheets in which transfection of si-MMP-1 and/or si-MMP-14 was performed. (C) Measurement of the extent of fibrosis based on Azan staining (left) and Sirius red staining (right) (n = 5–6 per group except for n = 4 for DKD and n = 3 for CCl4(−) group. DKD group and CCl4(−) group indicate double knock-down of MMP-1 and MMP-14 and control mice without CCl4 intoxication, respectively (mean ± S.E.M., **P < 0.01, one-way ANOVA, Games–Howell test).
