Emodin protects rat liver from CCl4-induced fibrogenesis via inhibition of hepatic stellate cells activation

Figure 4 Emodin inhibits expression of protein and mRNA levels of Smad4 in liver tissues in the rat model. A piece of liver tissue was collected from each treated rat. A: Smad4 proteins in liver tissue were stained by IHC. Representative views from each group (n = 6 per group) are presented (original magnification, × 400). Arrows indicate an area positively labeled with Smad4; B: Semi-quantification of Smad4 staining. Values are expressed as mean ± SD, n = 6 per group. ^aP < 0.05 vs CCl₄ group; C: Real-time PCR analyses of the mRNA levels of Smad4. Values are presented as means ± SD, n = 5 per group. GAPDH was used as an invariant internal control for calculating mRNA -fold changes; D, E: Western blotting analyses of the protein abundance of Smad4. GAPDH was used as an invariant control for equal loading. ^aP < 0.05 vs CCl₄ group.