Figure 3.

Rescued nitric oxide signaling restores the levels of sinusoidal endothelial markers in endothelial TAZ-KO mice. A) cGMP levels were quantified in the liver homogenates of wild-type (WT) mice and vehicle- or sGC activator (BAY 58-2667)-administered endothelial TAZ-knockout (eKO) mice. Data were normalized to the used liver weight (n = 6). B) Liver tissues in panel A were immunostained using anti-Lyve1 antibodies (red). The cell nuclei were counterstained with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI, cyan). Fluorescence was quantified using ImageJ software and presented as arbitrary units (AUs) (n = 6). Scale bar = 50 μm. C) The liver tissues in panel A were immunostained with anti-Cd34 antibodies. The stained area was calculated using ImageJ (n = 6). Scale bar = 100 μm. D) Mouse liver transcripts in panel A were analyzed using quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction, to quantify transcripts of the indicated LSEC and capillary marker genes (n = 6). Eight to ten-week-old mice were used for all panels. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.0005, as assessed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey's multiple-comparison test).