Sex based relative expression of estrogen receptors and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in liver affects hepatitis C virus viral pathogenesis

Figure 5 Expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in human liver tissues with hepatitis C virus-related diseases. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) message RNA and protein expressions were analyzed in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis and HCV-related hepatocellular carcinoma liver tissues and compared to normals. A: TNF-α transcript levels by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction normalized to GUSB and SRSF4 expression and compared using the ΔΔCt method; B: Stratification of A by sex; C: TNF-α protein expression by Western blot using whole liver tissue lysates; D: Quantification of C by densitometry from multiple blots and normalized to total protein; E: Stratification of D by sex. Column bars represent the median. Each symbol represents one individual. Data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s Multiple Comparisons posttest where ^aP ≤ 0.05. ^cP ≤ 0.001. TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; TPS: Total protein stain.