Research Paper Volume 8, Issue 2 pp 328—344

Figure 7. NKG2D receptor promotes senescent cell clearance and limits liver fibrosis in vivo. Nkg2d knockout (Nkg2d^−/−) and WT mice were treated with CCl₄ to induce fibrosis. (A) H&E and Sirius red staining was undertaken on liver sections. Scale bar: 100μm. (B) Quantification of the fibrotic area demonstrate increased fibrosis in Nkg2d^−/− livers compared to WT following CCl₄ treatment. (C) Expression of αSMA, a marker of activated HSCs, was determined by Western blot analysis of whole-liver extracts and (D) by quantitative RT-PCR. Four mice of each genotype are shown for (C). (E) SA-β-gal staining identified accumulation of senescent cells along the fibrotic scar areas in the livers of WT and Nkg2d^−/− mice. Scale bar: 100μm. (F) Quantification of the SA-β-gal staining of the livers of WT and Nkg2d^−/− mice. At least six mice of each genotype were used for the quantitative analysis in B and F; Two-tailed t-test *P<0.05, ***^P<0.0001.