Figure 2.
UC-MSC administration attenuates STZ-induced DN. (a) Schematic diagram of the experimental procedure. SD rats were treated with 60 mg/kg STZ or citrate buffer to induce a DN model. UC-MSCs (2 × 106/500 μL) were administrated twice via the tail vein after 10 weeks of STZ injection. The serum urea nitrogen (b), serum creatinine (c), 24 h urinary protein (d), and creatinine clearance rate (e) were evaluated (n = 4–5 for each group). Representative images of H&E staining (f) and PAS staining (g), scale bar: 50 μm. Data are expressed as means ± SD. ∗∗p < 0.01 and ∗p < 0.05.