Increased fibrosis in livers of ANIT-exposed Fibγ390-396A mice. WT and Fibγ390-396A mice were fed a control diet (AIN-93M) or an identical diet containing 0.025% ANIT for 4 weeks. (A) Representative photomicrographs show liver sections stained for fibrin(ogen) (brown) (×200). Arrowheads indicate peribiliary fibrin(ogen) deposits. (B) Representative photomicrographs show liver sections stained for collagens with sirius red (×200). Arrows indicate peribiliary collagen deposition. (C) Sirius red and (D) type I collagen stains were quantified as described in “Methods.” Hepatic expression of mRNAs encoding the profibrogenic genes: (E) COL1A1, (F) TGFβ2, (G) ITGβ6, and (H) TGFβ1 were determined by real-time qPCR. Data are expressed as mean + standard error of the mean (SEM); mice fed a control diet (n = 4) and mice fed an ANIT diet (n = 10 to 16 mice per group). *P < .05 vs control diet within genotype; #P < .05 vs WT mice fed the same diet.
