Heme oxygenase-1 prevents liver fibrosis in rats by regulating the expression of PPARγ and NF-κB

Figure 1 Effects of hemin and zinc protoporphyrin on the expression of heme oxygenase-1 in the liver of rats with fibrosis caused by CCl₄. Group A (normal, untreated); group B (model for 4 wk, untreated); group C (model for 6 wk, untreated); group D (model for 6 wk, treated with zinc protoporphyrin IX from week 4 to week 6); group E (model for 6 wk, treated with hemin from week 4 to week 6). A: Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) mRNA levels, determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction; B: HO-1 protein levels, detected by Western blotting. Data are expressed as the mean ± SE (n = 4 per group). ^aP < 0.01 vs the levels in group A; ^cP < 0.01 vs the levels in group C.