Fig. 1. TMP ameliorates CCl₄-induced hepatic fibrosis and liver injury.

Mice were administered CCl₄ (1.6 mg/kg) and different dosages (40, 80, and 160 mg/kg) of TMP by gavage. a Experimental protocol. b AST and ALT levels in serum. c Representative images of H&E, Masson’s Trichrome, and fibronectin staining. The immunostaining was quantified by Image J software. Scale bar = 100 µm. d The relative expression levels of DEGs enriched in ECM synthesis and degradation pathways were shown as a heatmap. Average log2 fold changes of CCl₄ + TMP vs CCl₄ groups were presented in the right panel. The expression of DEGs was classified into three clusters and the trend lines presenting the hepatic changes of these DEGs were shown. e Relative mRNA levels of Tgfb1, Col1a1, Fibronectin, Loxl2, Acta2, and Mmp14 were determined by qPCR and normalized using Hprt1 as an internal control. f Representative immunoblots against COL1A1, α-SMA, and β-ACTIN were shown. Statistical significance: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, compared with control group; ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01, ^###P < 0.001, compared with CCl₄ group (n = 6).