Conclusion and Implications:
These data suggest that TGFβ1 and IL-18 may be the main fibrogenic factors at different stages of liver fibrosis and that the levels of inflammation-associated cytokines and signaling pathway components decrease as the severity of hepatic fibrosis progresses. Therefore, it may be better to apply anti-inflammatory drugs in the early stage or use these drugs which facilitating more inflammatory cells or cytokines into liver tissue at the end stage of hepatic fibrosis.
Key words : liver fibrosis; cytokines; common bile duct ligation (BDL); thioacetamide (TAA); signal pathway;