Fig. 2.

sGC and cGMP in normal and fibrotic livers. (A) Sections of livers from vehicle (normal) and CCl₄ (fibrotic) groups were stained with antibodies against sGCα1 and sGCβ1. Arrowheads denote fibrotic bridges. (Scale bar: 25 μm.) (B) mRNA levels for the sGCα1 and sGCβ1 genes. (C) Western blots for sGCβ1, α-SMA, and GAPDH were performed on liver lysate. (D) cGMP production in response to stimulation was measured in the control group (n = 8) and the CCl₄-induced fibrosis group (n = 7). PBS (vehicle), praliciguat (PRL) (1 mg/mL), and SNP (S) (100 µM) plus praliciguat (1 mg/mL) were locally delivered by retrodialysis. (E) Levels of cGMP in the liver after 4 d of oral dosing with praliciguat (10 mg/kg) (n = 15) or vehicle (n = 10). Significance determined using an unpaired t test. ns, not significant; *P ≤ 0.05; **P ≤ 0.01; ****P ≤ 0.0001.