Figure 3.

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) overexpression exacerbates carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced liver fibrosis in mice. (A) GDNF, α-SMA and Col1 expression examined by immunoblotting and semiquantitative analysis. Liver samples were collected from CCl₄-treated mice treated with Ad-GDNF or Ad-shuttle vectors (n=5 per group). Representative images of GDNF (B), Sirius red (C) and α-SMA staining and the negative control with the same location (D), with the red arrow denoting the α-SMA-positive staining (original magnification, x100). The larger box shows a x600 magnification of the small box (n=5 for each group). (E) Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels in mouse serum samples (n=5 per group). mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines (F), as well as fibrogenic parameters (G), examined by real-time PCR (n=5 per group). Bars indicate the mean±SD of three independent experiments; n=5 per group; one-way analysis of variance with the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test was used in parts A, E–G.