Transforming growth factor beta-1 upregulates glucose transporter 1 and glycolysis through canonical and noncanonical pathways in hepatic stellate cells

Figure 6 Glucose transporter 1 inhibition delays the development of liver fibrosis in a mouse model of liver fibrosis. A: Schematic diagram of the experiment. C57BL/6 mice were injected intraperitoneally with CCl₄ to induce liver fibrosis. The model was successfully established after 4 wk. Among the treatment groups, the CCl₄ + phloretin group was intraperitoneally injected with phloretin (10 mg/kg) three times a week, and the CCl₄ group was injected with normal saline as a control. The treatments were discontinued after 2 wk; B: Mouse livers were collected, and liver tissue sections were prepared. The sections were subjected to Masson’s trichrome staining, Sirius red staining and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) immunohistochemical (IHC) staining (original magnification, × 10); C: The positive area ratio detected using Sirius red staining; D: The positive area ratio for α-SMA IHC staining; E and F: Serological analysis of ALT (E) and AST (F) levels (n = 5-7; the mean ± SE; scale bar, 100 μm; ^aP < 0.05 for the comparison between the CCl₄ group and the CCl₄ + phloretin group; Student’s t test). α-SMA: Alpha-smooth muscle actin.