Research Paper Volume 10, Issue 12 pp 3713—3735
Reduced production of laminin by hepatic stellate cells contributes to impairment in oval cell response to liver injury in aged mice
Figure 4. HSCs participate in the remodeling of OC niche by producing laminin. (A) Immunofluorescence staining for α-SMA+ (red) and EpCAM+ (green) cells in DDC-fed (DDC) versus chow controls (Chow) of young (2m) and aged (24m) mice. Quantification of α-SMA+ cells was shown (n=6, ** p < 0.01). (B) Western blot analysis of α-SMA in HSCs freshly isolated from young (2m) and aged (24m) mice with DDC diet. (C) Quantitative Real-time PCR analysis of Acta2 in HSCs freshly isolated from young (2m) and aged (24m) mice with DDC diet (n=6, ** p < 0.01). (D) Quantitative Real-time PCR analysis of different laminin isotypes in HSCs freshly isolated from young and aged mice with DDC diet (n=6, ** p < 0.01). (E) BrdU analysis of OCs co-cultured with primarily isolated HSCs from young (OC-2mHSC) and aged (OC-24mHSC) GFP transgenic mice while in one group laminin was added (OC-24mHSC+laminin) (n=4, * p < 0.05). (F) BrdU analysis of OCs co-cultured with HSCs in a cell-cell contact manner (OC-HSC) or with a transwell system (trans-OC-HSC) (n=5, ** p < 0.01).