Figure 7. Liver and small intestine (jejunum shown) apoptosis after ischemic acute kidney injury (RIR) or bilateral nephrectomy (BNx).

A. Representative gel images (of 4 experiments) demonstrating DNA laddering as an index of DNA fragmentation in the liver and jejunum from sham-operated mice (sham), mice subjected to BNx or to RIR. Tissues were harvested 5 hrs after surgery. Paneth cell granule depletion with dithizone treatment reduces liver and small intestine (jejunum shown) apoptosis after RIR or BNx. Apoptotic DNA fragments were extracted according to the methods of Herrmann et al. (29). This method of DNA extraction selectively isolates apoptotic, fragmented DNA and leaves behind the intact chromatin. B. Representative photomicrographs of TUNEL staining in small intestine (jejunum, magnification 100X) sections. Six hrs after vehicle (Li₂CO₃) or dithizone treatment, mice were subjected to sham operation (sham), to BNx or to RIR. Enlarged inserts (600X magnification) show that majority of TUNEL positive cells are villous capillary endothelial cells. Dithizone treatment did not induce Paneth cell or crypt apoptosis. Photographs are representative of 4 independent experiments.