Fig. 4.
Endothelial HB-EGF deletion slowed down renal injury induced by chronic Ang II infusion. A: compared with saline-infused mice, albuminuria, as indicated by increased urinary albumin/creatinine ratios (ACR), was present after 2 wk of Ang II infusion and increased continuously with prolonged Ang II infusion. Compared with HBlox/lox controls, HBendo−/− mice had significantly lower ACR. (*P < 0.05 or #P < 0.001 compared with normal saline-infused mice; ^P < 0.05 or ΨP < 0.001 compared with Ang II-infused HBendo−/− mice). B: periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-stained kidney sections from Ang II- or saline-infused mice. In Ang II-infused mouse kidneys, tubular casts and glomerulosclerosis were detected in HBlox/lox controls, whereas only mesangial expansion was seen in HBendo−/− mice. No obvious renal morphological changes were observed in the kidneys of saline-infused mice. C: glomerular sclerosis shown by PAS staining in B was assessed by glomerular score (0–4) and shown as means ± SE of 6–7 samples in each group. D: renal fibrosis shown by anti-α-smooth muscle actin-Cy3 (α-SMA-Cy3) immunofluorescence staining. Original magnification ×400. All images represent the results of 6–7 mice in each group.