Figure 4.

BM-MSCs^PRL−1 had predominantly antifibrotic effects in a BDL-injured rat model

(A) Representative images showing histopathological analysis of rat liver sections stained with H&E and Sirius red (arrows) after naive BM-MSC (BM-MSCs; n = 20) and BM-MSC^PRL−1 (BM-MSCs^PRL−1; n = 20) transplantation and without transplantation (NTx; n = 19) and in sham control (Con; n = 6) rats at 5 weeks. Scale bars, 100 μm. (B) Quantification of Sirius red-positive areas in stained liver slides at 1, 2, 3, and 5 weeks (n = 5/group). (C) qRT-PCR and (D) western blot analysis of fibrosis markers (Acta2 and Col1a1) in pooled liver samples (n = 5–6/group). (E) Blood chemistry analysis to show liver function (e.g., AST, ALT, T-cholesterol, and albumin) in individual serum samples (n = 5–6/group). Values represent the mean ± SD. ∗p < 0.05 in comparison with the NTx group; ∗∗p < 0.05 in comparison with BM-MSCs.