Fig. 7.

Atg5 deficiency in renal proximal tubules inhibited interstitial fibrosis during UUO. WT and PT-atg5 KO mice were subjected to sham operation or unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) (n = 6 each group), and the kidneys were harvested 14 days later. A Representative immunoblots and quantification of ATG5, p62, and LC3 expression in the kidneys (n = 3). B Representative images of H&E staining, Masson’s trichrome staining, and Sirius red staining. Scale bars, 50 μm. C, D Quantitative analysis of collagen deposition. E Kidney slices were immune stained with antibodies against α-SMA (red, left), VIMENTIN (red, middle), and PDGFR-β (red, right), labeled by DAPI to visualize cell nuclei (blue) and LTL to visualize proximal tubules (green). Scale bars, 20 μm. F–H Quantitative analysis of α-SMA, VIMENTIN, and PDGFR-β positive areas. The values are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 6). * Indicates a significant difference from the sham group; # indicates a significant difference from the relevant wild-type group. # or * P < 0.05, ## or **P < 0.01, ### or ***P < 0.001, #### or ****P < 0.0001