Fig. 6.

Prolonged exposure of BDL rats to dark decreases the expression of fibrotic markers. Following BDL, there was increased expression of α-SMA, COLA1, fibronectin-1, MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP1, TIMP2, and TGF-β in total liver (A and C) and purified cholangiocytes (B and D) compared with normal rats. Prolonged exposure of BDL to dark decreases the expression of α-SMA, COLA1, fibronectin-1, MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP1, TIMP2, and TGF-β in total liver samples (A and C) and purified cholangiocytes (B and D). Data are expressed as means ± SE of 4 experiments to GAPDH ratio from cumulative preparations of cholangiocytes. *P < 0.05 BDL compared with normal rats. #P < 0.05 BDL + dark compared with BDL rats.