Hepatocyte Growth Factor Reduces Free Cholesterol-Mediated Lipotoxicity in Primary Hepatocytes by Countering Oxidative Stress

Figure 1

High-cholesterol diet induces liver injury and hepatocytes lipid overload. (a) Gross inspection of the liver and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of liver tissue from animals under normal Chow and high-cholesterol (HC) diet for two days. Arrows indicate hepatocyte proliferation. (b) Liver function test: alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). (c) Bright filed microscopy; neutral lipids and free cholesterol content assessed by Oil Red and filipin staining, respectively, of HC and Chow hepatocytes. Images are representative of at least three independent experiments. Original magnification, 200x. Each column represents mean ± SEM of at least four independent experiments. versus Chow diet.

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