The extent of hepatic proliferation was comparable to TAK1LPC-KO mouse livers or livers from partially hepatectomized mice (Supporting Fig. 3B). The observed hyperproliferation in CAIKK2LAP mice could be due to activation of the cell cycle driven by the NF-κB signaling, or by subordinately activated JNK signaling (Supporting Fig. 3C). Sirius-red staining revealed a hepatic fibrosis in 12-week-old

CAIKK2LAP mice (Fig. 2A), whereas no significant fibrosis was seen in 4-week-old CAIKK2LAP mice nor in nontransgenic animals at any age (Fig. 2A; Supporting Fig. 4A). The extent of fibrosis in 12-week-old CAIKK2LAP mice was variable, ranging from mild portal fibrosis (Desmet score 1) to bona fide cirrhosis (Desmet score 4, seen in 2 out of 16 analyzed animals) (control 0.06 ± 0.3, CAIKK2LAP 1.9 ± 1.3, P = 3 × 10−6; Fig. 2B and data not shown). These LY294002 chemical structure data were further confirmed by elevated hydroxyproline content (biochemical marker of collagen deposition; control 1 ± 0.1, CAIKK2LAP 1.8 ± 0.1, P = 3 × 10−8), morphometrical analysis of Sirius-red stained sections, as well as increased hepatic collagen messenger RNA (mRNA) levels (gene Col1a1) in CAIKK2LAP versus control mice (relative to hypoxanthine-guanine see more phosphoribosyltransferase gene [HPRT], control 0.04 ± 0.03, CAIKK2LAP 3.0 ± 2.0, P = 0.002; Fig. 2A,D,E). The higher collagen deposition in CAIKK2LAP mice was PAK5 likely due

to increased HSC activation, given that α-SMA (gene Acta2), an established HSC activation marker, was significantly elevated, both at the mRNA and protein levels (Fig. 2C,E). In addition, we also observed higher levels of several fibrosis-associated genes such as Tgfb1 and Icam (Fig. 2E). Of note, elevated Col1a1 and Acta levels were already seen in 4-week-old CAIKK2LAP mouse livers (Supporting Fig. 4B), suggesting that these mice already display a significant HSC activation, but no appreciable collagen deposition. To study the pathogenesis

of liver fibrosis development in CAIKK2LAP mice, we performed microarray analyses using livers from 4-week-old mice. In all, 1,043 genes were significantly overexpressed in double-transgenic animals compared to controls (Supporting Table 1). Gene ontology analysis revealed hepatocyte stress reaction, inflammation, and chemotaxis as the major pathways altered in CAIKK2LAP animals (Supporting Table 2). The altered expression of selected genes (SAA isoforms Saa1, Saa2, and Saa3; chemokines Ccl2, Ccl5, Cxcl2, Ccl20, and Cxcl10; chemokine receptors Ccr2 and Cxcr4) and the up-regulation of macrophage-related Tnfa, Il6, and Mmp9 was confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR (Fig. 3). Furthermore, elevated SAA, CCL2, and CCL5 serum levels were observed in CAIKK2LAP mice as compared to controls (Fig. 3). To further characterize the hepatic inflammation in CAIKK2LAP mice, we performed immunohistochemical stainings.