Fig. 1.

Sal B attenuated CCl₄-induced liver fibrosis and increased hepatic Ecm1 expression. (A) Scheme of the experimental procedure for C57BL/6 mice injected with CCl₄ and treated with Sal B or Fer-1. (B) Serum ALT and AST activity. (C) Representative images of mouse liver tissue stained with H&E and SR (bar = 100 μm), and semiquantitative analysis was performed to evaluate the extent of the SR-positive staining area. (D) Hepatic hyp content. (E) Representative images of IHC staining of Ecm1 (bar = 100 μm) and TEM images (bar = 2 μm) are presented. (F) Western blot analysis and quantification of Ecm1 protein expression using gray value analysis, Ecm1 mRNA expression, and detection of Ecm1 in liver tissue by ELISA. Data are represented as mean ± SD (n = 6–8/group). *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.