VN-/- mice showed decreased picrosirius red staining in the liver area and Col1a2 mRNA expression levels, compared with WT mice, indicating that the severity of hepatic fibrosis is attenuated in the CDAHFD-fed VN-/- mice.
Administration of glycyrrhizin or its metabolite, glycyrrhetinic acid, significantly suppressed COL1A2 promoter activation and progression of liver fibrosis induced by repeated carbon tetrachloride injections.
In humans, serum albumin levels correlated with albumin mRNA content as indicated by the intensity of dot blot hybridization and Type I procollagen mRNA levels correlated with the activity of liver fibrosis.