Fig. 2

Effect of nicorandil (NIC) on hepatic protein expression of SIRT-1, AMPK, PGC-1α, STAT3, PPARγ, and HIF-1α in thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver fibrosis in rats. (A) Representative Western blot images showing the hepatic expression levels of SIRT-1, HIF-1α, PGC-1α, STAT3, AMPK, and PPARγ. β-actin was used as a loading control. (B–G) Bar graphs represent the densitometric quantification of the relative protein expression of SIRT-1 (B), AMPK (C), PGC-1α (D), PPARγ (E), STAT3 (F), and HIF-1α (G), normalized to β-actin. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM (n = 6 per group). ^aSignificantly different from the normal control group (p < 0.05). ^bSignificantly different from the TAA group (p < 0.05). ^cSignificantly different from the TAA + NIC (7.5 mg/kg) group (p < 0.05).