Elevated free cholesterol in a p62 overexpression model of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

Figure 3 p62 expression elevates serum and liver cholesterol. A, B: Hepatic (A) and serum (B) cholesterol concentrations in mice fed the respective diet for two or four weeks; C, D: Representative cryosections stained with Filipin for hepatic free cholesterol in mice fed the methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet for four weeks (original magnification: × 400) (C) with corresponding quantification (D) (mean out of five randomly picked sections on the slide); E, F: Relative hepatic mRNA expression of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-CoA reductase or HMGCR) (E) and sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 2 (SREBF2) (F) are shown as a ratio against the housekeeping gene, 18S. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM (n = 10-12). tg: Transgenic; wt: Wild-type; ctrl: Control.