Figure 4

TGFBI Tg but not TGFBI KO mice present increased incidence of carcinogen-induced liver pre-neoplasia. (A) Percentage of TGFBI Tg and WT mice with liver tumor nodules after DEN treatment. TGFBI Tg mice and their WT littermates were treated with DEN in drinking water for 3 months (3 m) or 5 months (5 m) and then sacrificed. Percentages of mice with and without liver tumor nodules upon visual inspection are shown, and mouse number (n) per group indicated. P-values of Tg versus WT groups are presented (2-tailed Student’s t test). (B) Number of tumor nodules on liver surface in Tg and WT mice treated with DEN. TGFBI Tg mice and their WT littermates were treated with DEN in drinking water for 3 months. Visible tumor nodules on the liver surface were counted, means ± SD of nodules per liver reported, and mouse number (n) per group shown. The asterisk indicates significant statistical differences (p < 0.05, 2-tailed Student’s t test). (C) Pre-neoplastic liver tumor nodules in mice treated with DEN in drinking water. Arrows indicate multiple whitish tumor nodules on the liver surface from Tg mice on DEN-water drinking for 3 months (a). The liver was stained with hematoxylin-eosin; solid arrows indicate pre-neoplastic hepatocyte nodules; empty arrows point to cell infiltration around blood vessels (b). Representative liver sections from TGFBI Tg (c), WT (d) and TGFBI KO (e) mice, treated with DEN in drinking water for 3 months, were stained with anti-PCNA Ab. Signals appear in brown. (D) Percentages of TGFBI KO and WT mice with liver tumor nodules after DEN treatment. TGFBI KO mice and their WT littermates were treated with DEN in drinking water for 3 months (3 m) or 5 months (5 m), and the percentages of mice with liver tumor nodules are shown.