Figure 8.

ADR–treated Podocin-Cre Klf15^flox/flox mice exhibit a lack of recovery in albuminuria and foot process effacement after DEX administration. Podocin-Cre Klf15^flox/flox and Podocin-Cre Klf15^+/+ mice were initially treated with ADR (18 mg/kg) with subsequent administration of DEX (2 mg/kg every 48 hours) starting on day 7. Urine was collected weekly, mice were euthanized, and renal cortex was fixed for histology 4 weeks post-ADR treatment. (A) Schematic diagram of ADR and DEX treatment protocol. (B) Albuminuria (urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio) was measured (n=6). *P<0.05; **P<0.01 (Kruskal–Wallis test with Dunn post-test). (C) Electron microscopy was performed to assess ultrastructural changes in podocyte morphology. The representative images from four mice in each group are shown. Red arrows show normal upright foot processes. Red arrowheads show foot process effacement. Magnification, ×10,000. (D) Foot process width was quantified by counting the number of slits per length of glomerular basement membrane with ImageJ. **P<0.01 (Kruskal–Wallis test with Dunn post-test).