Figure 3.

Relative mRNA abundance in liver: RNA was extracted from livers of mice infected with Schistosoma eggs (Schisto) and mice infected with Schistosoma eggs, followed by infusion of mesenchymal stem cells (Schisto/MSC). mRNA levels for collagen-I (Fig.3a.), TGF-β (Fig.3b.), MMP- 2 (Fig.3c.)and TIMP-1 (Fig.3d) were determined by quantitative RT-PCR. The figure shows relative abundance of each mRNA, normalized to the mRNA content in the Scisto mice. The data are means of three determinations.