Fig. 1: The anti-fibrotic effects of B fragilis in UUO model.

A The relative abundance of B. fragilis in the CKD and control groups from Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University measured by qPCR (n = 10). ***p = 0.0005. B The relative abundance of B. fragilis in the CKD and control groups from the Putuo People’s Hospital measured by qPCR (n = 15). ***p < 0.0001. Box plots show center line as median, whiskers show maxima and minima, and box limits show upper and lower quartiles. C Pearson’s analysis of the correlations between B. fragilis level and the blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Scr). D Picture of left kidneys of mice with different treatments (n = 3). E The renal index (mg/g) was calculated by dividing the wet renal weight by the body weight (n = 6). ***p = 0.0001 for E: Sham vs. UUO, p = 0.9682 for E: Sham vs. UUO + BF, ***p  <  0.0001 for E: Sham vs. UUO + HBF, ^###p = 0.0006 for E: UUO vs. UUO + BF, p = 0.9992 for E: UUO vs. UUO + HBF. F Biochemical parameters including blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr), serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) in each of mice (n = 5). ***p = 0.0003 for BUN: Sham vs. UUO, p = 0.2261 for BUN: Sham vs. UUO + BF, ***p = 0.0006 for BUN: Sham vs. UUO + HBF, ^#p = 0.0246 for BUN: UUO vs. UUO + BF, p = 0.9992 for BUN: UUO vs. UUO + HBF; *p = 0.0105 for SCR: Sham vs. UUO, ^#p = 0.0436 for SCR: UUO vs. UUO + BF; *p = 0.0152 for TC: Sham vs. UUO, p = 0.9999 for TC: Sham vs. UUO + BF, *p = 0.0443 for TC: Sham vs. UUO + HBF, ^#p = 0.0240 for TC: UUO vs. UUO + BF, p = 0.9915 for TC: UUO vs. UUO + HBF; ***p = 0.0007 for TG: Sham vs. UUO, p = 0.8042 for TG: Sham vs. UUO + BF, **p = 0.0031 for TG: Sham vs. UUO + HBF, ^##p = 0.0070 for TG: UUO vs. UUO + BF, p = 0.9609 for TG: UUO vs. UUO + HBF. G Representative immunofluorescence staining of Vimentin and E-Cadherin in kidneys of mice as indicated (scale bar, 20 μm. magnification, ×200). H Quantitative analysis of Fig. 1G (n = 3). ***p  <  0.0001 for VIMENTIN: Sham vs. UUO, p = 0.0896 for VIMENTIN: Sham vs. UUO + BF, ^###p  < 0.0001 for VIMENTIN: UUO vs. UUO + BF; ***p  <  0.0001 for E-CADHERIN: Sham vs. UUO, **p = 0.0011 for E-CADHERIN: Sham vs. UUO + BF, ^##p = 0.0017 for E-CADHERIN: UUO vs. UUO + BF. I Kidney expression of FN, Col I and α-SMA from Sham, UUO and B. fragilis -treated UUO mice, assayed by Western blot. J Quantitative analysis of Fig. 1I (n = 3). ***p  <  0.0001 for FN: Sham vs. UUO, p = 0.3994 for FN: Sham vs. UUO + BF, ^###p = 0.0002 for FN: UUO vs. UUO + BF; **p = 0.0026 for COL-1: Sham vs. UUO, p = 0.7546 for COL-1: Sham vs. UUO + BF, ^##p = 0.0062 for COL-1: UUO vs. UUO + BF; ***p  <  0.0001 for α-SMA: Sham vs. UUO, **p = 0.0024 for α-SMA: Sham vs. UUO + BF, ^###p  < 0.0001 for α-SMA: UUO vs. UUO + BF. K Representative photomicrographs of the H&E staining and Masson’s trichrome staining from left kidneys of Sham, UUO, and B. fragilis -treated UUO mice (H&E and Masson’s staining; scale bar, 100 μm, magnification, ×200). L Bar graph depicts renal injury scores and renal interstitial fibrosis scores based on H&E staining or Masson’s trichrome staining (n = 3). ***p  < 0.0001 for injury scores: Sham vs. UUO, **p = 0.0064 for injury scores: Sham vs. UUO + BF, ***p  < 0.0001 for injury scores: Sham vs. UUO + HBF, ^##p = 0.0018 for injury scores: UUO vs. UUO + BF, p  > 0.9999 for injury scores: UUO vs. UUO + HBF; ***p  < 0.0001 for fibrosis scores: Sham vs. UUO, **p = 0.0085 for fibrosis scores: Sham vs. UUO + BF, ***p  < 0.0001 for fibrosis scores: Sham vs. UUO + HBF, ^##p = 0.0041 for fibrosis scores: UUO vs. UUO + BF, p  > 0.9999 for fibrosis scores: UUO vs. UUO + HBF. Data are presented as mean ± SD. Comparison in A, B were performed with a two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test. Comparisons in E, F, H, J, and L were compared using One-Way ANOVA followed by Sidak’s multiple comparisons test. ^*P < 0.05, ^**P < 0.01, ^***P < 0.001 (compared with sham group), ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01, ^###P < 0.001 (compared with UUO group). Individual data points are independent biological replicates unless otherwise stated.