Fig. 2. Ablation of biliary NIK attenuates DDC-induced ductular reaction.

A–F NIK^ΔK19 and NIK^f/f male mice were fed a chow or DDC diet for 4 weeks. A, B Liver sections were costained with antibodies to NIK and K19. NIK⁺K19⁺ cells were counted and normalized to K19⁺ cells (n = 3 mice per group). Scale bar: 200 μm. C Liver extracts were immunoblotted with antibodies to NF-κB2 and β-actin (each lane represents an individual mouse; 4 mice per group). D, E Liver sections were immunostained with anti-K19 antibody. D Representative images. E K19 cholangiocytes were counted and normalized to total cell number. Chow: NIK^f/f: n = 4 mice, NIK^ΔK19: n = 4 mice; DDC: NIK^f/f: n = 7 mice, NIK^ΔK19: n = 8 mice. Scale bar: 200 μm. F Liver K19 expression (normalized to 18 S levels). a.u. arbitrary units. Chow: NIK^f/f: n = 4 mice, NIK^ΔK19: n = 4 mice; DDC: NIK^f/f: n = 6 mice, NIK^ΔK19: n = 6 mice. G NIK^ΔK19 (n = 6 mice) and NIK^f/f (n = 7 mice) males were fed an ANIT diet for 3 weeks. Liver sections were stained with anti-K19 antibody. K19 cholangiocytes were counted and normalized to total liver cells. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, 2-way ANOVA B, E, F and 2-tailed student’s t-test G. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.