Fig. 6
From: Retinol from hepatic stellate cells via STRA6 induces lipogenesis on hepatocytes during fibrosis
Knock-down of Stra6 attenuates liver fibrosis in vivo. a Delivery of a FAM-tagged siRNA targeting Stra6 to the normal or TAA-treated mouse liver using a vitamin A-liposome complex. The FAM-tagged siRNA targeting Stra6 is shown in green, STRA6 is shown in red, retinol is shown in blue, and the nuclei are shown in white. VitaminA-liposome complex only-treated group: n = 3; vitaminA-liposome complex and TAA-treated group: n = 3; TAA/siStra6 group: n = 5. The experiments were performed three times independently. Retinol or αSMA-positive area % per 0.06 mm2 were quantified using Image J program in five pictures for each group. Scale bar of lower magnification: 25 μm; scale bar of higher magnification: 5 μm. b The effects of siRNA-mediated knock-down of Stra6 on the expression levels of the mRNAs encoding STRA6, FASN, and SREBP1 in normal and TAA-treated mouse liver tissues. VitaminA-liposome complex only-treated group: n = 3; vitaminA-liposome complex and TAA-treated group: n = 3; TAA/siStra6 group: n = 5. The experiments were performed three times independently. P-values were determined using unpaired Student’s t-tests in Prism8. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001. c Oil red-O staining showed the accumulation of triglyceride in TAA- and siStra6-treated mouse liver samples. VitaminA-liposome complex only-treated group: n = 3; vitaminA-liposome complex and TAA-treated group: n = 3; TAA/siStra6 group: n = 5. The experiments were performed three times independently. Scale bar of the upper panel: 5 μm; scale bar of the lower panel: 2 μm. d Quantification of the oil red-O staining shown in (c). VitaminA-liposome complex only-treated group: n = 3; vitaminA-liposome complex and TAA-treated group: n = 3; TAA/siStra6 group: n = 5. Five pictures of each sample were analyzed using ImageJ. P-values were determined using unpaired Student’s t-tests in Prism8. ****P < 0.0001. e MT staining of the extracellular matrix and picro-sirius staining of collagen in the VitaminA-liposome complex only-, vitaminA-liposome complex and TAA-treated, and TAA plus siStra6-treated groups. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was also performed. Scale bar: 10 μm. f Quantification of the picro-sirius red staining shown in e VitaminA-liposome complex only-treated group: n = 3; vitaminA-liposome complex and TAA-treated group: n = 3; TAA/siStra6 group: n = 5. Four pictures of each sample were analyzed using ImageJ. P-values were calculated using unpaired Student’s t-tests in Prism8. ****P < 0.0001. g, h The levels of aspartate aminotransferase (g) and alanine aminotransferase (h) in mouse serum. Duplicates of each sample were performed. VitaminA-liposome complex only-treated group: n = 3; vitaminA-liposome complex and TAA-treated group: n = 3; TAA/siStra6 group: n = 5. P-values were calculated using unpaired Student’s t-tests in Prism8. **P < 0.01, ****P < 0.0001