Figure 2.

Toluidine blue staining in rat liver tissue sections. Rats were treated with N-diethylnitrosamine for 16 wk to establish a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) animal model. Sulphated glycosaminoglycan content in tissues were stained with Toluidine blue. A and C: Control group; B and D: HCC model group. Long black arrows: The cells are magnified in the small boxes. Short white arrow: Hepatoma tissues with intensive Toluidine blue staining; short black arrow: Weaker Toluidine blue staining fibrosis and “relative normal” liver tissues adjacent to the hepatoma nodules; E: Comparison of average integrated optical density (IOD) of toluidine blue staining in liver tissue between control and HCC model group (^aP < 0.05). IOD/area: Integrated optical density per stained area.