Gene expression in TAA-induced liver fibrosis. (A) Liver RNA extracts from two TAA-treated rats at 3 months after starting TAA administration compared to two age-matched non-treated rats were analyzed for mRNA expression. These experiments were performed at least twice. (B) Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of selected genes in fibrotic liver. Values are mean ± SEM of liver samples from TAA-treated rats (n=4), expressed as fold differences in gene expression compared to age-matched non-treated rats (n=4). One representative experiment for each gene, from at least 2 replicate experiments, is shown. qRT-PCR analysis was also performed for AFP, Dlk-1, Sox-9 and FoxJ1, expressed in all 4 fibrotic liver samples (Ct values ranged from 29 to 33) were undetectable in normal liver.