Fig. 6: Distal TEC-specific Atg7 deletion activated NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway and induced apoptosis of TECs after UUO.

a Representative immunofluorescent staining and quantification of NLRP3 (red). Scale bars, 100 μm. b Representative immunofluorescent staining and quantification of IL-1β (green). Scale bars, 100 μm. c Representative immunoblots and d densitometry of expression of NF-kB, NLRP3, Caspae-1 and IL-1β. e Representative images of TUNEL staining and quantification of TUNEL-positive cells. TUNEL assay revealed that the number of TUNEL-positive cells was significantly greater in obstructed kidneys of tubular epithelial cell-specific Atg7 KO mice compared with WT mice after UUO. Scale bars, 100 μm. f Representative immunoblots and densitometry for expression of c-Myc. The protein expression of c-Myc was significantly greater in obstructed kidneys of tubular epithelial cell-specific Atg7 KO mice compared with obstructed kidneys of WT mice after UUO (n = 5, densitometry; *P < 0.01 versus kidney of WT mice with sham operation; †P < 0.01 versus kidney of tubular epithelial cell-specific Atg7 KO mice with sham operation; ‡P < 0.01 versus obstructed kidney of WT mice 7 days after UUO)