Treg/Th17 balance regulated liver fibrosis progression in mouse models

<p>. (A) Experimental protocol: Mice were i.v. injected with ConA weekly for up to four weeks to establish liver fibrosis models. Depletion of CD25⁺ or IL-17⁺ cells during fibrosis progression was performed with i.p. injection of either anti-CD25 or anti-IL-17 mAb one day before and after ConA injection twice a week. (B) Representative dot plots of CD4⁺CD25⁺ or CD4⁺IL-17⁺ cells in mouse livers are shown at week 4 after the administration of anti-CD25 or anti-IL-17 or isotype control mAb. (C) The frequencies of CD4⁺CD25⁺ cells in mouse livers and spleens with administration of anti-CD25 or isotype control mAb were determined at week 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 after ConA injection. ***, <i>p</i><0.001 compared to isotype at week 0. (D) The frequencies of CD4⁺IL-17⁺ cells in mouse livers and spleens with administration of anti-IL-17 or isotype control mAb were determined at week 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 after ConA injection. **, <i>p</i><0.01; ***, <i>p</i><0.001 compared to isotype at week 0. (E) Serum ALT levels at week 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 after ConA injection. (F) Representative Masson staining of livers in ConA or PBS treated mice is shown at week 4 after the administration of anti-CD25 or anti-IL-17 or isotype Ab (× 100 and × 200 magnification). <i>n</i> = 6–8 per group. (G) The mRNA levels of α-SMA, PDGF-BB, TGF-β, collagen type I and III in mouse livers at week 4 after ConA injection are shown in four groups: isotype, isotype + ConA, anti-CD25+ ConA and anti-IL-17+ ConA groups. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM; *, <i>p</i><0.05; **, <i>p</i><0.01; ***, <i>p</i><0.001.