Parameters of hepatic fibrosis.

<p>(A–C) Representative pictures of (A) Sirius Red (magnification×100) and (B+C) ERTR7 (fibroblast marker) (magnification ×400, ×100, respectively) positive sections after 3 months on the HFC diet in C57Bl6, <i>APOE2ki</i> and <i>Ldlr^−/−</i> mice, respectively. (D) Hepatic hydroxyproline content of C57Bl6, <i>APOE2ki</i> and <i>Ldlr^−/−</i> mice after 3 months of chow and HFC diet. (E–I) Gene expression analysis of tumor growth factor beta <i>(Tgf-β)</i>, Collagen 1a1 <i>(Col1a1)</i>, metalloproteinase <i>(Mmp-9</i>), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (<i>Timp1</i>) and alpha smooth muscle actin (<i>αSMA</i>). Data were set relative to the C57Bl6 mice on the chow diet. * Significantly different from chow group. *, ** and *** indicate p<0.05, 0.01 and 0.001, respectively.