2.1 Animals and experimental design
All
mice received human care and animal experiments were approved by the
University Committee on Use and Care of Animals of the China
Pharmaceutical University (Nanjing, China), (Resolution number,
202007001). Animal studies are
reported in compliance with the ARRIVE guidelines (Lilley et al.,
2020)and with the recommendations made by the British Journal of
Pharmacology. Male C57BL/6J used for this study (18–20 g, specific
-pathogen‐free class) were purchased from Charles River Laboratories
Co., Ltd (Beijing, China). Five‐week‐old mice were used for establishing
CCl4 and BDL‐induced hepatic fibrosis model and
6-8‐week‐old mice were used for isolating mouse primary HSCs. Animals
were maintained in an environmentally controlled room (pathogen‐free,
20–24°C, 40–60% relative humidity and 12‐hr alternating light/dark
cycle). Laboratory animals were randomly assigned to groups of equal
size. Analysis of all animal samples was carried out in a blinded
manner.