Figure 2.

Praziquantel (PZQ) ameliorates CCl₄‐induced liver fibrosis by targeting hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) in vivo. (a) Histological characterization of liver fibrosis and myofibroblast activation by immunohistochemistry for collagen type I α1 (COL1A1) and α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA). Scale bar, 100 μm. (b) Quantification of histological changes in different treatment groups with positive area using image analysis software (n = 5). (c) HSCs were purified from the mice with liver fibrosis and with or without praziquantel treatment. Western blot analysis for COL1A1, α‐SMA, and a loading control (GAPDH) protein levels in HSCs. (d) Quantitative analysis of COL1A1, α‐SMA, and GAPDH expression (n = 5). All data are presented as means ± SEM. *P < .05; significantly different as indicated; ns, non‐significant