Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 improves liver fibrosis in mice by regulating autophagy of hepatic stellate cells

Figure 4 Effect of rAAV-Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 treatment on hepatic stellate cell apoptosis. A: Transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining (magnification × 400); B: The relative number of apoptotic cells in each group was analyzed using Image-Pro Plus 6.0. ^aP < 0.05 vs Control; ^bP < 0.05 vs CCl₄; ^cP < 0.05 vs rAAV-ACE2 + CCl₄; C: TUNEL and Alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) immunofluorescence co-localization staining (magnification × 630). The nuclei stained by DAPI were blue, FITC luciferin-labeled apoptotic cells were green, and α-SMA displayed red. Rapa: Rapamycin; ACE2: Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; DAPI: 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; FITC: Fluorescein isothiocyanate.