Fig. 1

Increased hepatic Bmp8a expression in BDL mice. A Representative images of H&E and Sirius Red staining. Evaluation of the fibrosis stage (upper panel) and quantification of Sirius Red expressed as % of stained area (lower panel). B Hepatic mRNA levels of Col1a1, Acta2 and Serpin1 determined by RT-qPCR and normalized to 36b4 gene expression. C Hepatic mRNA levels of Bmp8a determined by RT-qPCR and normalized to 36b4 gene expression. D, E, F and G Correlation of matched Bmp8a mRNA expression with fibrosis stage, Col1a1, Acta2 and Serpin1 mRNA expression, respectively. Experimental conditions: mice with either BDL or sham operation and sacrificed 28 days after operation (N = 7 animals per group). BDL, bile duct ligation. Data are expressed as fold increase relative to control condition (sham group, 1) and presented as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.005 and ****p < 0.0001, BDL vs. Sham