Figure 5. Integrin α3 protein is upregulated in podocytes of Alport glomeruli.

A–C: Fresh frozen kidney sections from 4 week old Alport mice were labeled with a combination of rabbit anti-integrin α3 and mouse anti-synaptopodin IgGs, followed by the appropriate species-specific Alexa Fluor secondaries. Anti-integrin α3 immunolabeling (A) is restricted to the epithelial podocyte layer, marked by synaptopodin staining (B), and overlap of staining is shown in C (merge). D–F: Representative fluorescence micrographs are shown of anti-integrin α3 labeling of wild-type (D, wt), or Alport (E) mouse glomeruli. The glomerular fluorescence intensities were averaged for n = 3 mice of each genotype, wild-type (wt, blue) or Alport (red), and integrin α3 signals were significantly greater in Alport. * p = 0.006.