Fig. 2

Fucoidan suppresses inflammation in the livers from S. japonicum-infected mice. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis of IL-6 (a), IL-12 (b), TNF-α (c), IL-13 (d) and IL-4 (e) in each group. The liver tissues of each group were prepared. The mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines in the liver of each group were evaluated. The mRNA level of each gene was normalized to GAPDH mRNA levels in each sample. Results are presented using the 2^-ΔΔCq method. f Immunofluorescence of Pho-p65 in the liver tissue from normal or S. japonicum-infected mice treated with or without fucoidan. Original magnification: ×200. g The mean optical density of Pho-p65 positive cells from 6 random fields in each group was digitized and analyzed using Image-Pro Plus software. Data are expressed as the mean ± SD for each group (n = 5 for each group), and all experiments were performed twice with similar results. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. Abbreviation: ns, not significant (ANOVA/LSD). Scale-bars: f, 50 μm