Earlier studies conducted by our laboratory have shown that suppression of transforming
growth factor-β (TGFβ)-mediated upregulation of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) by
iloprost resulted in a greatly diminished oval cell response to 2-acetylaminofluorene/partial
hepatectomy (2AAF/PH) in rats. We hypothesized that this effect is due to decreased
activation of hepatic stellate cells. To test this hypothesis, we maintained rats on a diet
supplemented with 2% L-cysteine as a means of inhibiting stellate cell activation during the …