Metformin attenuates motility, contraction, and fibrogenic response of hepatic stellate cells in vivo and in vitro by activating AMP-activated protein kinase

Figure 1 Effect of metformin in CCl₄-induced fibrotic mice. A fibrotic mouse model was induced by intraperitoneal injection of CCl₄ (1 μL/g) dissolved in olive oil (CCl₄:olive oil = 1:1, v/v) twice per week for 6 weeks. A and B: Histological changes were assessed by hematoxylin-eosin (H-E) staining and Sirius Red (S-R) staining (100 × magnification); C-E: Expression levels of α-SMA, fibronectin, and VEGF in the liver tissues were measured by immunohistochemistry (100 × magnification). Sirius Red staining was analyzed with ImageJ and immunohistochemical staining was analyzed with Image-Pro Plus 6.0. (Scale bar = 200 μm, n = 5, ^bP < 0.01 vs the control group, ^dP < 0.01 vs the CCl₄ group).