Figure 4.

Intermittent administration of PRI-724 provides anti-fibrotic activity for HCV-induced liver fibrosis. HCV transgenic mice were treated with vehicle or PRI-724 (15 mg/kg body weight) administered intraperitoneally at a frequency of once or twice per week for 6 weeks (Fig. S1A). Undosed non-transgenic mice were used as controls. (A) Liver damage and fibrosis were assessed by staining with hematoxylin and eosin (upper panels) or Masson’s trichrome (lower panels); representative micrographs are provided (scale bars = 200 μm). (B,C) Collagen deposition was assessed by Sirius Red staining. Representative micrographs are provided in (B) (scale bars = 200 μm) and results are quantified in (C) (graph). Plotted data are shown as the mean ± SD (control: n = 3; vehicle: n = 3; PRI-724 (15 mg/kg, twice per week): n = 4; PRI-724 (15 mg/kg, once per week): n = 3). Significance was assessed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison test as indicated; significant relationships are indicated by P-values.