Fig. 1

Conventional preparation effect on crystal optical activity of NAFLD hepatocytes. A The standard FEDXT procedure (formaldehyde fixation, ethanol dehydration, and xylene transparency) was used to prepare control and HiF diet induced NAFLD livers for H&E (Aa and Ab) and Masson Trichrome (Ac and Ad) histology, which showed control hepatocytes and hepatocytes with large empty vacuoles respectively. B H&E (Ba and Bb) and Masson Trichrome (Bc and Bd) staining of the same NAFLD and control samples prepared by cryo-section showed the same histology. Images of these specimens under polarized light prior to the staining process shows a lack of birefringence in the control group and birefringent crystals in NAFLD livers (Be and Bf). C Smear samples from control liver and NAFLD liver observed under polarized light showed the same non-birefringent and birefringent activity, respectively (Ca and Cb). D Cryo-sections of HiF diet induced NAFLD livers are shown after cryo-sectioning (Da) and post crystal-to-isotropic-droplet-to-liquid–crystal phase transitions (Db). Magnifications of these corresponding anisotropic crystals and anisotropic Maltese cross LC-HLD under polarizers are shown at a non-crossed angle of 45° (Dc and Dd) and crossed angle of 90° (De and Df)