Fibrosis increases in MCD diet-induced steatohepatitis and correlates with HPC activation.

<p><b>(A)</b> Histological analysis on Sirius Red stained livers revealed a progressive collagen deposition in MCD diet-treated mice from the 4^th to the 8^th week of treatment, as confirmed by morphometric quantification (<b>B</b>, upper panel). Collagen deposition strongly correlated with CK19 positivity (<b>B</b>, lower panel). MCD diet also stimulated the mRNA expression of profibrogenic mediators TGF-β1 and COL1A1(<b>C, D</b> upper panel, respectively), both of which correlated with increased HPC response (<b>C</b>, <b>D</b> lower panels) (n = 6–11 mice per group; *p<0.05, **p<0.01; ***p<0.001). Original magnification: 100X.