Heme oxygenase-1 overexpression increases liver injury after bile duct ligation in rats

Figure 1 Experimental design. Either CoPP or saline were injected intraperitoneally in male rats. Three days later, bile duct ligation (BDL) or sham operation was performed. Some animals were killed 3 d after CoPP injection or 3 wk after BDL to assess HO-1 protein expression in liver tissue. Blood samples were taken just before and at 0, 1, 7, 14, and 21 d after BDL to assess for alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransaminase (AST), serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and bilirubin. Liver sections were taken from rats 3 wk after BDL to evaluate pathological changes.