2.3 Empagliflozin alleviated HFD/STZ-induced liver fibrosis in T2DM mice
HE staining showed increased lipid droplets, lipid vacuolation and disordered arrangement of liver lobules in T2DM group, while Empagliflozin group could significantly attenuate these pathological changes (Figure 2A). Furthermore, Masson’s Trichrome Staining and Sirius red staining results expounded that the collagen deposition was increased in the HFD/STZ-induced mouse liver tissues, and was reduced after Empagliflozin treatment, suggesting that Empagliflozin reduced the degree of liver fibrosis (Figure 2A). The quantitative analysis of liver fibrosis score is also consistent with the above results (Figure 2A). Western blotting analysis showed that Empagliflozin significantly decreased the protein levels of α-SMA and TGF-β1 (Figure 2B) (P < 0.05). Moreover, qPCR showed that compared with T2DM group, Empagliflozin significantly decreased the mRNA levels of α-SMA, TGF-β1, Col 1 and Vimentin (P < 0.05) (Figure 2C). As shown in Figure 2D, The immunohistochemical
analysis demonstrated that Col 1, collagen type III (Col3) and Vimentin were highly expressed in the HFD/STZ-induced mouse liver tissues, and were decreased after Empagliflozin treatment. In summary, the above results corroborated that the administration of Empagliflozin ameliorated HFD/STZ-induced liver fibrosis in T2DM mice.