TGFB1 and Hepatic fibrosis: Using rat tissue from this previous work we showed that chronic TAA treatment caused hepatic fibrosis (as demonstrated by IHC stains for α-SMA and TGF-β), upregulation of OPN, and upregulation of markers of cell degradation and proliferation (p53 and ki67, respectively), thus indicating that upregulated OPN expression is a component of hepatic fibrosis.