Figure 2.

Effect of vitamin D (VD) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐mediated expression of transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β), angiotensinogen (AGT) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in podocytes. (a) After pre‐incubation with VD, TGF‐β and AGT mRNA expression levels originally elevated by LPS challenge were reduced by 50.61 and 48.14%, respectively (P < 0.05). However, the VEGF messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression level did not change as the other factors did. (b) After pre‐incubation with VD, the elevated protein expression levels of TGF‐β and AGT, but not VEGF, were both reduced to levels similar to the negative controls. *P < 0.05.