Hepatic injury was greater in the LCR than the HCR rats when measured at the time of natural death. A, sirius red staining for hepatic fibrosis (quantified by % of fibrotic area); B, apoptosis measured by TUNEL staining of apoptotic hepatocytes nuclei. C, TGF-1β protein, a strong fibrogenic signal, was visually greater in livers from LCR than HCR rats at the time of natural death. *Significant difference (P < 0.05); values are reported as means ±s.e.m.; n= 4–6.