The WB results revealed that the protein expression of α-SMA and collagen I gradually increased after infection, peaked at 9 weeks, and then decreased at 12 weeks after infection but remained significantly greater than that in the uninfected group, with a significant decrease in the PZQ treatment group (F = 14.56, 13.04, P < 0.05) (Fig. 1D). Here, ACTA1 is linked to infection.