Skip to main content
. 2021 Mar 25;13(7):1515. doi: 10.3390/cancers13071515

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Figure 1

Honokiol (HNK) treatment attenuates hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development in major urinary protein (MUP)-urokinase type plasminogen activator (uPA) transgenic mice. (A) Protocol for honokiol treatment in MUP-uPA transgenic mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Then, six week-old male mice fed an HFD for 26 weeks were treated with vehicle control or HNK (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (three times/week) for another 8 weeks (32–40 weeks of age). Tumor development was analyzed at 40 weeks. For the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) analysis, 6-week-old male mice fed an HFD for 6 weeks were treated with vehicle or HNK for 8 weeks (12–20 weeks of age). During honokiol treatment, the HFD feeding regimen was continued. (B) Gross morphology of livers with HCC and typical HCC histology in mice of the MUP-HFD model. (C) Maximal tumor size and tumor numbers in MUP-HFD mice treated with vehicle or honokiol. Tumor development was analyzed 2–4 days after the final honokiol injection. Results are presented as the median with interquartile ranges. (D) Liver sections of MUP-HFD mice were analyzed at 20 weeks of age after treatment with vehicle or honokiol for the last 8 weeks of NASH development. Liver histology, lipid accumulation, and fibrosis were analyzed by staining liver sections with hematoxylin and eosin, Oil red O, and Sirius Red, respectively. (E) The positive areas were quantified using ImageJ software and presented as bar graphs. Results are presented as the mean ± SD.