Hepatic microenvironment underlies fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B patients

Figure 1 Profiling of fibrosis marker genes in liver samples from patients with hepatitis B virus infection. qPCR of fibrosis marker genes in hepatitis B virus patients with advanced fibrosis (S3-4, n = 16) compared to patients with less fibrosis (S0-1, n = 16). Values presented are expressed as the means ± SE; Statistical comparisons were made using the Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon test; P value < 0.05 was considered significant; ^aP < 0.05; ^bP < 0.01; ^cP < 0.001. FAP: Fibroblast activation protein; α-SMA: Alpha-smooth muscle actin; TIMP1: Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1; COL1A1: Collagen type 1 alpha 1 chain; TLR4: Toll-like receptor 4.