Figure 1.

Morphologic characterization of the endothelial SIRT1-knockout mouse model. (A) Representative Masson’s trichrome staining of kidney sections from 12-week-old SIRT1^endo−/− knockout mice, SIRT1^endo+/− heterozygote mice, and control animals. Histomorphologic examination does not reveal any noticeable pathologic changes in heterozygote or control animals, but shows a spontaneously developing mild patchy interstitial fibrosis in SIRT1^endo−/− mice at the early age. (B) Quantification of the fibrotic area (grid method). (C and D) Expression of collagen I and collagen III, examined by quantitative real-time PCR. n=6 animals per group. Data are the mean ± SEM. *P<0.05. Original magnification, ×600.