Fig. 2.

Regression of liver fibrosis by IC-2 sheets. (a) Micrographs of liver sections subjected to Azan staining. The individual number of the mouse (lot number of the cell sheet) is described on the left side of each micrograph (scale bar = 100 μm). (b) Sirius Red staining (scale bar = 100 μm). (c) The proportions of Azan-stained fibrotic areas of two groups (4–5 fields per each mouse in 3 mice were measured). (d) The proportions of Sirius Red-stained fibrotic areas of two groups (4–5 fields per mouse in 3 mice were measured). (e) Hydroxyproline contents in the liver. The number of mice examined in the sham, sheets, and CCl₄(−) groups were 22, 26, and 3, respectively. ^∗P < 0.05 examined by Steel test. (f) α-SMA expression in recipient liver tissues was measured by western blotting. Sham and sheets represent the sham and IC-2 sheets groups, respectively. (g) Serum aspartic aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and total bilirubin were shown. The number of mice examined in the sham, sheets, and CCl₄(−) groups was 22, 26, and 3, respectively, except 24 of the total bilirubin in the sheets group. The results are expressed as mean ± S.D. ^∗∗P < 0.01 examined by Student's t-test.