Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation by TCDD Modulates Expression of Extracellular Matrix Remodeling Genes during Experimental Liver Fibrosis

Figure 5

TCDD treatment increases gelatinase activity in the liver of CCl₄-treated mice. (a) In situ zymography of zinc-buffered, formalin-fixed liver tissue using DQ™-gelatin. Green fluorescence indicates gelatinase activity; nuclei were stained with DAPI. Photomicrographs (100x magnification) are representative of three mice per treatment group. Scale bars represent 400 μm. (b) Quantification of gelatinase activity based on the percentage of green fluorescence coverage per field of liver tissue. Ten fields were analyzed per mouse; three mice were evaluated per treatment group. Data represent mean (±SEM) of three mice per treatment group. All possible pairwise comparisons were measured for statistical significance. Means that do not share a letter are significantly different from each other (), whereas means that share a letter are not.

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