Fig. 2

HSOS-derived gut microbiota aggravated the liver damage induced by MCT. A The study protocols. FMT-HSOS indicates fecal microbiota transplantation from HSOS rats, and FMT-Norm indicates fecal microbiota transplantation from normal rats. B, C Serum ALT and AST activity. D The typical macroscopic (upper) and histological (down) observation of liver injury. (E) The % area of necrosis quantified in a low power field (100 ×). F The total HSOS score. G The protein expression of MMP-9 in liver tissues. GAPDH was used as a loading control. Data were shown as mean ± SEM. N = 4. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. MCT, monocrotaline; HSOS, hepatic sinus obstruction syndrome; FMT, fecal microbiota transplantation; PBS, phosphate buffered saline; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; MMP-9, matrix metalloproteinase-9; GPADH, glyceraldehyde-3phosphate dehydrogenase