Fig. 6.

C5 or C5aR deficiency diminishes cisplatin-induced cytokine and caspase gene expression and STAT3/NF-κB activation in murine kidneys. A–D: RT-PCR analyses were conducted to examine expression of cytokines and caspase genes in the kidneys 72 h after cisplatin or cisplatin plus C5 or C5a treatment. Expression levels were normalized to β-actin expression levels and are expressed relative to saline-treated WT mice. Values are means ± SE (n = 4/group). A and B: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 compared with corresponding WT controls treated with cisplatin. C and D: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 compared with corresponding C5KO mice treated with cisplatin alone. E: nuclear extracts were isolated from the kidneys 72 h after cisplatin administration and used in Western blot analyses.