Fig. 8. Disruption of hepatic STAT3 suppresses cytokine and chemokine production in STAT3^Mye−/− mice.

Mice were injected with CCl₄ and then sacrificed 12 h post injection. A. Real-time PCR analyses of cytokine and chemokine expression in the liver. B. Serum levels of cytokines and chemokines. Values represent means±SD (n=7–8) *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001 denotes significant differences between STAT3^Mye−/− and STAT3^{Mye−/−Hep−/−} mice. C. Schematic of the interaction of hepatic and myeloid STAT3 in controlling liver necrosis and inflammation. Activation of Kupffer cells not only produces toxins that cause liver injury and inflammation, but also produces hepatoprotective cytokines (such as IL-6, OSM, and maybe other factors) that activate STAT3 in hepatocytes and ameliorate hepatocellular damage.