Figure 9.

De novo expression of desmin and MMP-9 and suppression of nephrin in podocytes of diabetic kidney in vivo. A and B: Determination of podocyte numbers of diabetic kidney at 3 months after STZ injection in uninephrectomized mice. A: Kidney sections from the control and diabetic mice were stained immunohistochemically for WT-1. The WT-1-positive podocytes were counted in 10 randomly chosen glomeruli and the averages of podocyte numbers per glomerulus were calculated. B: Data are expressed as mean ± SEM of five animals per group. C: Specific up-regulation of TGF-β type I receptor (TβR-I) in the glomerular podocytes of diabetic kidney. Kidney sections from the control and diabetic mice were stained with anti-TβR-I antibody. D: De novo expression of desmin and MMP-9 and suppression of nephrin in podocytes of diabetic kidney. Kidney sections from the control and diabetic mice were stained with specific antibodies against desmin, MMP-9, and nephrin, respectively. Representative micrographs are shown. Arrowheads indicate positive staining. Scale bars = 25 μm.