Fig. 5.

Au₃-PEG₅₀₀-FA₃₂ NP reduced fibrosis in the UUO kidney. UUO mice were treated with either a single i.v. dose of Au₃-PEG₅₀₀-FA₃₂, Au₃-PEG₅₀₀ NPs, saline, or free FA on day 7 post-UUO surgery, or daily intraperitoneal injections of Captopril from day 7 to day 14. All animals were killed on day 14. (A) IHC images show the expression of type I collagen (brown), the major component of ECM. (B) Quantitative analysis of type I collagen in kidney sections based on the IHC data in (A). (C) Western blot analysis revealed significant inhibition of type I collagen upon treatment with Au₃-PEG₅₀₀-FA₃₂ NP. “100%” indicates the mean value of the type I collagen content from saline-treated mice. Data are from n = 5, across one experiment. Statistical significance was evaluated using the Mann–Whitney U test. IHC images show the expression of (D) α-SMA (brown) and (E) CD3⁺ cells (brown dot and red arrow). Quantitative analysis of (F) α-SMA (brown) and (G) CD3⁺ cells in the kidney sections based on the IHC data in (D) and (E). Mice treated with Au₃-PEG₅₀₀-FA₃₂ NP had significantly lower (B) type I collagen area, (F) α-SMA area, and (G) CD3⁺ cells than those treated with saline. For (A), (D), and (E), representative images from three kidney sections from each mouse, n = 9 mice/group. Locations of the glomerulus, renal tubule, and tubule lumen are annotated as “g”, “t”, and “l”. For (B), (F), and (G), statistical significance was evaluated using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test for multiple comparison. All P values ≤ 0.05 are displayed on the graphs. All bars and error bars represent mean ± SD.