Osteopontin is an important mediator of alcoholic liver disease via hepatic stellate cell activation

Figure 5 Knocking down over-expression of Osteopontin inhibits/increases mRNAs (log 10) related to plasmin, extracellular matrix and fibrogenesis. Associated with Osteopontin (OPN) knockout, mRNA expression of αvβ3-integrin, CD44, PLG, PAI-1, MMP7, TGF-β, α-SMA and Col1 was significantly down-regulated but ìPA and MMP9 were up-regulated in OPN^-/- compared to WT control mice. n = 6-8 per group; ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01 vs WT-saline.