All animals received humane care and the experimental protocol was approved by Animal Research Committee of the University of Tokyo. The common bile duct was doubly ligated and resected between the two ligation in rats and

mice as described.12 Rats and mice were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (40 mg/kg BYL719 molecular weight body weight, intraperitoneally),13 and polyethylene catheters inserted into the carotid artery and vein of each rat for mean arterial pressure measurement and drug infusion. For mice, drug infusion was performed by way of the tail vein. Portal vein pressure was measured in the portal trunk by way of the ileocolic vein with 24G catheters in rats and mice, which were connected to a polygraph system (AP-601G; Nihon Kohden, Tokyo, Japan). The readings were monitored and saved on a computer using the analog-to-digital PowerLab system (AD Instruments, Colorado Springs, CO). After cannulation of all catheters, animals were stabilized hemodynamically for 5 minutes. Thereafter, mean arterial pressure and portal vein pressure were measured for 30 minutes after the administration of S1P2 antagonist, JTE-013 (Cayman Chemical, Ann Arbor, MI),14 which was infused intravenously for 1 minute. JTE-013 was dissolved in 10% wellsolve (Celeste, Tokyo, Japan)15 in saline, and the total infused volume was 0.3 mL in rats. The intravenous infusion of 0.5 mL 10% wellsolve for 1 minute did not affect mean arterial pressure and portal

vein pressure in control rats (not shown). Means of mean arterial pressure and portal vein pressure before the infusion were determined using the measured values for 5 minutes after the hemodynamic stabilization, find more and those after the administration of S1P2 antagonist click here were determined using the measured values from 10 minutes to 30 minutes after the infusion. Fresh liver specimens were homogenized in M-PER Mammalian Protein Extraction Reagent (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Rockford, IL) plus Halt Protease Inhibitor Cocktail (Thermo Fisher Scientific).

Immunoblot analysis was performed as described,16 using specific antibodies against Rho kinase (dilution 1:1,000, BD Biosciences Pharmigen, San Diego, CA), moesin (dilution 1:1,000, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA), phosphorylated moesin (dilution 1:1,000, Santa Cruz Biotechnology), phosphorylated myosin phosphatase targeting subunit 1 (MYPT1 [Thr853]; dilution 1:500, Upstate, Lake Placid, NY), and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH; dilution 1:2,000, Santa Cruz Biotechnology). Immunoreactive proteins were visualized using a chemiluminescence kit (GE Healthcare, Little Chalfont, UK), and recorded using a LAS-4000 image analyzer (Fuji Film, Tokyo, Japan). Total RNA was isolated from rat and mouse livers using TRizol (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. One microgram of total RNA was reverse-transcribed with the Transcriptor First Strand cDNA Synthesis kit (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany).