Fig 1: Effects of HFD on cholesterol and bile acid metabolism in the liver of Nile tilapia after 4-week and 8-week feeding trials. (a–e) mRNA expression of genes related to cholesterol synthesis (a), esterification (b), uptake (d), efflux (e), and bile acid synthesis (c) in the liver (n = 9); (f–i) relative expression of proteins related to cholesterol esterification (g, h) and bile acid synthesis (i) in the liver (n = 4). Data are represented as means ± SD; asterisks indicate the differences between the C and HFD groups in the same feeding trial, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001; hash symbols indicate the differences between 4-week and 8-week feeding trials of the same lipid level diet, #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01, ###P < 0.001; C: control diet; HFD: high-fat diet. hmgcr: 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase; sqle: squalene monooxygenase; lss: lanosterol synthase; msmo1: methylsterol monooxygenase 1; acat1: acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase 1; acat2: acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase 2; cyp7a1: cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase; ldlr: low-density lipoprotein receptor; abca1: ATP binding cassette subfamily A member 1; abcg1: ATP binding cassette subfamily G member 1; abcg5: ATP binding cassette subfamily G member 5; abcg8: ATP binding cassette subfamily G member 8.