Fig 3. Zinc preconditioning preserves kidney architecture in rats post IRI.

(A) Histopathological examination of the kidney by H&E staining 7 days after 60 minutes ischemia. An H&E-stained section of the kidney from a rat treated with 10 mg/kg ZnCl₂ displays a near-normal cortex with normal glomeruli and no necrosis of individual tubular cells, and has a Jablonski acute score 1. An H&E-stained section of the kidney from a rat treated with 30 mg/kg CoCl₂ displays complete coagulative tubular necrosis with Jablonski acute score 3. An H&E-stained section of the kidney from a rat treated with saline displays acute tubular injury affecting the distal one third to one half of the proximal convoluted tubules and has a Jablonski acute score 4. (B) Tubular damage and necrosis was significantly (*P < 0.05) reduced in kidneys of rats treated with 10 mg/kg ZnCl₂. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM for each treatment group.