Figure 3.

Gene expression of liver fibrosis markers in LX-2 cells upon treatment with 5 μg/mL of H. pylori OMVs. Relative gene expression of fibrosis markers (α-SMA, β-catenin, and vimentin) was markedly increased after treatment of LX-2 cells with OMVs derived from different H. pylori strains. The mRNA level of E-cadherin was decreased in LX-2 cells treated with OMVs isolated from different H. pylori strains. However, OMVs isolated from H. pylori strains numbers 1, 2, and 4 upregulated the expression of snail, while OMVs derived from strains numbers 3 and 5 decreased its expression in comparison with untreated cells. Data presented as means ± standard error (SEM) for three independent experiments. Data are shown as the mean ± SEM. ^∗P < 0.05, ^∗∗P < 0.01, ^∗∗∗P < 0.001, and ^∗∗∗∗P < 0.0001 by post hoc one-way ANOVA statistical analysis.