Fig. 3.

Morphometric and functional analysis of Dgke KO mice after NS injury. A: albumin concentrations in 24-h urine collected from Dgke KO and WT mice in basal conditions and at 7 and 14 days after injection with NS or NIS, a control. Values are means ± SE. n = 3 WT and 3 Dgke KO mice per group. P values were calculated by Student's t-test. B: average length of podocyte effacement calculated by digital image analysis of TEM images. Values are means ± SD; n = 10 images per mouse, with 2 mice per experimental group. P values were calculated by Student's t-test. Immunofluorescence microscopy images (C) and quantification (D) of the number of WT-1-positive podocytes per glomerulus in the four experimental groups are shown. Values are means ± SD; n = 3 mice per group. E: serum hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cells (RBC), and platelet (PLT) count in Dgke KO and WT mice in basal conditions and at 14 days after injection with NS or NIS, a control. No significant difference among these parameters was detected. Values are means ± SD; n = 3 mice per group. P values were ns, calculated by Student's t-test. F: representative immunofluorescence microscopy images Dgke KO mice glomeruli (left) after NS injection compared with WT littermates (right), using an antibody against the complement C3. G: quantification of the number of glomeruli positive for C3 deposition. Values are means ± SE; n = 2 mice per group, with 20 glomeruli per mouse. P values were calculated by Student's t-test. H and I: representative immunofluorescence microscopy images (H) and digital quantification (I) of glomerular CD31 expression in Dgke KO kidneys and WT mice 14 days after treatment with NS or with NIS as a control. Veh, vehicle.