Involvement of IL-13 and Tissue Transglutaminase in Liver Granuloma and Fibrosis after Schistosoma japonicum Infection
Figure 4
Cystamine as an inhibitor of tTG alleviated the extent of liver fibrosis. tTG activity in BALB/c mice is blocked by CTM intraperitoneal injection from day 3 to day 10 after Sj infection. Mice are sacrificed at week 8 after infection. Liver tissues are fixed and stained with anti-tTG (a), anti-α-SMA antibody (b) (original magnification 40x), or Masson trichrome (d) (magnification 20x). Noninfected mice with or without CTM treatment acted as controls. Collagen deposition area percentage (Masson trichrome staining positive area percentage of each section) is calculated and shown in (d). Level of α-SMA protein expression in mouse liver tissues is shown through Western blot analysis, and GAPDH is detected as an internal control (c). Concentration of hyaluronic acid in mouse liver serum is shown in (e) through ELISA assay. Data are presented as mean ± SD from eight mice per group. .
