FIGURE 4.

The nAChRα1-dependent myofibroblast recruitment requires uPA. a, renal nAChRα1 Western blot analysis illustrates a significant reduction in total nAChRα1 protein in the uPA^−/− mice after UUO, as was observed in the wild-type mice shown in Fig. 1. The histogram represents mean band densities. +, p < 0.05, sham versus 7-day UUO (7dUUO), n = 4/group; *, p < 0.05, psir2 versus pscr, 7-day UUO, n = 4. The nAChRα1 IHC photomicrographs illustrate that the nAChRα1 protein was absent in the interstitium of both normal and obstructed uPA^−/− kidneys. b, kidney αSMA. Northern blot analysis illustrates a significant 2-fold reduction in αSMA mRNA due to nAChRα1-silencing seen in the uPA-sufficient mice 7 days after UUO but not in the uPA^−/− mice (n = 8). The histogram represents semiquantitative results (mean ± S.D.) of Northern blot analysis using the NIH Image analysis program. The lower glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) mRNA bands were used to correct for RNA loading.