Protection of the liver against CCl4-induced injury by intramuscular electrotransfer of a kallistatin-encoding plasmid

Figure 1 Time-course study of the effect of the poly-L-glutamate formulation on transgene expression of pLac in the tibialis anterior muscle after electroporation transfer. The plasmids were transferred with (square) and without (triangle) poly-L-glutamate (PLG) formulation. The values shown are mean ± SD, n = 8.

Figure 2 Dose-dependent kallistatin concentrations in the serum responded to intramuscular electrotransfer of a plasmid pKal in poly-L-glutamate formulation. The values shown are mean ± SD, n = 8. Kal: Kallistatin.

Figure 3 Protective effects of kallistatin expression against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in mice. HE staining was performed on paraffin embedded sections of the liver tissues. Representative sections are shown for each group. A: Control; B: Carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄); C: pLac + CCl₄; D: pKal (100 μg) + CCl₄; E: pKal (50 μg) + CCl₄; F: pKal (25 μg) + CCl₄; G: Necroinflammatory scores. ^bP < 0.01 vs control group; ^cP < 0.05, ^dP < 0.01 vs CCl₄ group.

Figure 4 Immunohistological analysis of transforming growth factor-β1 (brown) in the mice livers treated with carbon tetrachloride. A: Control; B: Carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄); C: pLac + CCl₄; D: pKal (100 μg) + CCl₄; E: pKal (50 μg) + CCl₄; F: pKal (25 μg) + CCl₄.

Figure 5 Inflammatory response and muscle damage arising from plasmid injection and electroporation. A: Saline; B: pLac.