Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 1 pp 957—972

Bnip3 interacts with vimentin, an intermediate filament protein, and regulates autophagy of hepatic stellate cells

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Figure 1. The expression of Bnip3 was increased in fibrotic liver tissues from clinical patients and Schistosoma japonicum infected mice. Expression of Bnip3 was identified in liver biopsy specimens from clinical patients, and mice infected with S. japonicum by immunohistochemistry. (A, B) Human samples from liver fibrosis were collected for Bnip3 detection by immunohistochemistry and liver samples of para-hemangioma from patients, were used as negative control. (A) Liver samples of para-hemangioma from patients (n=8). (B) Fibrotic liver samples from patients (n=8). Scale bar, 20 μm. (C, D) BALB/c female mice, 6–8 weeks old, were percutaneously infected with 25 cercariae of Schistosoma japonicum through the shaved abdomen, sacrificed at 8 weeks post-infection, and samples of liver were collected. (C) Non-infected liver samples from mice (n=4) and (D) fibrotic liver samples from S. japonicum infected mice (n=4). Scale bar, 20 μm. Representative images were shown. Positive cells were counted and the scores were multiplied with staining intensity. Products were introduced into SPSS 19.0 to analyze statistical difference of Bnip3 expression in normal liver tissues and fibrotic liver tissues. (E) Bnip3 in liver tissues from patients; (F) Bnip3 in liver tissues from S. japonicum infected mice. **P < 0.01.