Fig. 8: Nestin promoted the expression and phosphorylation of nephrin to ameliorate proteinuria in MRL/lpr mice.
From: Nestin protects podocyte from injury in lupus nephritis by mitophagy and oxidative stress
a Eighteen 27-week-old mice were randomly divided into three groups: MRL/lpr group (n = 6); MRL/lpr + shNestin group (n = 6); MRL/lpr + shNC group (n = 6). The mice in the MRL/lpr + shNestin group and the MRL/lpr + shNC group were renally injected with 50 μL 1 × 109 infective units of adenoviruses in both kidneys at three sites, six MRL/MPJ mice enrolled as control mice, and six MRL/lpr mice were injected with isometric saline. Three weeks later, the mice were sacrificed. b Linear regression showed the 24 h proteinuria of MRL/MPJ and MRL/lpr mice by ELISA method. *P < 0.05 vs. MRL/MPJ mice, #P < 0.05 vs. MRL/lpr + shNC mice. Every group n = 6. c HE and PAS staining showed the kidney histopathology of the MRL/lpr mice. Scale bars: 50 μm. d Electron microscopy assay showed the ultrastructure of the podocytes in renal cortex of the MRL/lpr mice. Scale bars: 667 nm. e–g IHC staining showed the expression of nestin, nephrin, LC3 and p62 in the MRL/lpr mice. Scale bars: 50 μm. *P < 0.05 vs. MRL/MPJ group, #P < 0.05 vs. MRL/lpr + shNC group. h, i Western blot assay showed the downregulation of nestin affected the expression of nestin, nephrin, and p-nephrin (Y1217) in MRL/lpr mice. *P < 0.05 vs. MRL/MPJ group, #P < 0.05 vs. MRL/lpr + shNC group (n = 3). Bonferroni’s correction was performed to analyze statistical significance. Values are mean ± SEM.
