Fig. 5.

Stiffness modulates antifibrotic effect of liraglutide.

HSCs from CCl₄-exposed rats with cirrhosis were cultured for 72 h on gels with high (30 kPa) or low (0.5 kPa) stiffness in the presence of vehicle or liraglutide. Graphs correspond to relative mRNA expression of the activation markers α-SMA and collagen I. Data derived from 3 independent experiments and are expressed as mean ± SEM. Treatment with simvastatin (S) at 0.5 kPa was used as a positive control of further HSC deactivation. For each experiment, sample distributions were assessed for normality (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test) and homoscedasticity (Levene's test). ANOVA was performed in homoscedastic groups following a normal distribution, followed by Tukey's post hoc test. Otherwise, the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis was performed, followed by Mann-Whitney U test. ∗p <0.05 vs. 30 kPa, ^†p <0.05 vs. corresponding vehicle. ^‡p <0.05 vs. 0.5 kPa + liraglutide. p >0.2 if not specified. HSC, hepatic stellate cell; α-SMA, α-smooth muscle actin.