Figure 5.

TRIM37 Promotes Hepatic Fibrosis In Vivo

(A–D) AAV8-HBV 1.2 vector was injected in mice through the tail vein along with control shRNA (ad-shNC) or Trim37 shRNA (ad-shTRIM37), and the effect on (A) collagen secretion was measured by Masson’s trichrome staining in liver tissue, and HBV infection was verified by HBsAg and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) staining; (B) the level of Hyp secretion was measured by an A030 Hyp assay kit; (C) the amounts of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were quantified by commercial kits; and (D) protein levels of TRIM37, SMAD7, collagen I/III, α-SMA, and MMP-2 were measured by western blotting using the indicated antibodies. Scale bar, 100 μm. ∗∗∗p < 0.01 compared with control; ^##p < 0.01, ^###p < 0.001 compared with AAV8-HBV 1.2 + ad-shNC.