Fig. 7: Renal tubular specific knockout Kim1 relieves bilateral ischemia-reperfusion-induced AKI.

a, b Western blots (a) and qPCR (b) of KIM1 levels in the kidneys of WT and Kim1^Ksp KO mice at Day 1 after bilateral renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (bIRI). a n = 3 mice per group; b n = 6 mice per group. c, e Serum creatinine level (c), serum urea nitrogen level (d), and pathological score (e) of WT and Kim1^Ksp KO mice at Day 1 after bIRI. Scale bar, 50 μm. c, d n = 4 for WT group and n = 7 for Kim1^Ksp KO group, respectively. e n = 6 for WT group and n = 7 for Kim1^Ksp KO group, respectively. f–i qPCR of Ngal (f), inflammatory factors (g), apoptotic molecules (h) and fibrotic factors (i) in the kidneys of WT and Kim1^Ksp KO mice at Day 1 after bIRI. f, i n = 6 mice group. j Western blots of caspase cascade proteins from the kidneys of WT and Kim1^Ksp KO mice at Day 1 after bIRI. n = 3 mice per group. k, l Representative images of TUNEL assay (k) with quantitative results (l) of WT and Kim1^Ksp KO mice at Day 1 after bIRI. Scale bar, 50 μm. k, l n = 6 mice per group. m Native PAGE electrophoresis of DR5 oligomers in WT and Kim1^Ksp KO mice at Day 1 after bIRI. n = 3 mice group. Data shown as mean ± SD. Two-tailed unpaired Student’s t-test was used for two experimental groups, and one-way ANOVA for multiple experimental groups without adjustment. ^*P < 0.05; ^**P < 0.01^. Exact P values are provided in Source Data.