FIGURE 2.
Effect of serelaxin on (A) mRNA and (B) protein expression of α-SMA in kidney tissue of WT and cGKI-KO mice. mRNA was determined with RT-qPCR and 18s rRNA as housekeeping gene. Results are shown as fold change of mRNA expression (2ΔΔct) in the fibrotic kidney relative to contralateral healthy kidney, which was set as 1. The increase of α-SMA protein expression [%] in fibrotic renal tissue compared to contralateral kidney was quantified by immunohistochemistry; α-SMA, α-smooth muscle actin; cGKI, cGMP-dependent protein kinase I; KO, knockout; RLX, serelaxin; UUO, unilateral ureteral obstruction; WT, wildtype, ∗p < 0.05.