Fig. 2

Suppression of COX2 activity with NS398 consistently diminished the expression level of the components of the COX2/PGE2 axis and the extent of hepatic fibrosis. The activity of COX2 in mice was inhibited by NS398 through intraperitoneal injection three times per week from week 5 to week 7 after Sj infection. Mice were sacrificed at week 8. Non-infected mice with or without NS398 treatment served as controls. a, b The protein expression level of COX2, mPGES-1, EP2, EP4 and α-SMA, COL I in mice liver homogenates detected by western blotting was displayed in a, and the semi-quantitative result is shown in b (t test, **p < 0.01, ***P < 0.001). GAPHD was used as a loading control. c–f The protein expression levels and location of α-SMA (c) and COL I (e) in mice liver tissue were determined by IHC assay (×200), and the semi-quantitative result for these proteins is shown using ImageJ analysis in d (t test, **p < 0.01) and f (t test, ****P < 0.0001). Representative Sirius red staining (×200) of Sj single egg granuloma is shown in g. The percentage of morphometric collagen areas of single Sj egg granuloma is shown in h (t test, ***P < 0.001). i The average number of Sj eggs on each liver section is shown (t test, ns, no significance). Data are presented as mean ± SEM from 5 to 9 mice per group