Figure 4

Complement activation, paralleled by glomerular C3a/C3a receptor expression, induces the expression of CXCR4 and GDNF in protein-overloaded mice.

(A,B) Expression of CXCR4 (A, red) and GDNF (B, red) in kidney samples of WT (littermates of Cfh^−/− mice), Cfh^−/− and Bf^−/− mice injected with saline or BSA. Renal structure is counterstained with FITC-WGA lectin (green). (C) Glomerular expression of c-Ret in podocytes (arrows) and PECs (arrowheads) by immunohistochemistry in WT (littermates of Cfh^−/− mice), Cfh^−/− and Bf^−/− mice injected with saline or BSA. (D,E) Representative images of C3a (D) and C3a receptor (E) by immunohistochemistry in WT mice injected with saline or BSA. Podocytes and PECs are indicated with arrows and arrowheads, respectively. Insets display enlarged images. Data information: Nuclei are counterstained with DAPI (blue). Scale bars: 20 μm.