COL2A1 and Hepatic fibrosis: In both schistosome-induced liver fibrosis models and CCL4-induced liver fibrosis model, quantitative mRNA expression analysis showed that, except for Col2α1, the levels of Col1α2 and other collagen genes in fibrotic liver tissues were significantly higher when compared to control groups, further supporting their role in liver fibrosis (Figure 1D,E).