Fig. 8.

Effect of pioglitazone on nephrin expression in the kidney glomeruli in the obese Zucker and ZDF fa/fa rats. Representative pictures of tissue sections subjected to immuno-fluorescence detection of nephrin with a IgG-FITC-labelled secondary antibody and focusing on the glomeruli (magnification: ×400). (A) LZR, lineal immuno-fluorescence pattern indicated by arrows; amplification denotes irregular lineal distribution of nephrin (arrowheads) on the glomerular capillary loop. (B) Untreated OZR; (C) OZR treated for 4 months with pioglitazone at low dose; (D) untreated ZDFR; (E) ZDFR treated for 4 months with pioglitazone at low dose. LZR: lean Zucker rats, ZDFR: Zucker diabetic fatty rat, PGT: pioglitazone.