Figure 7.
ILK ablation induces caspase-3-mediated apoptosis in PKD kidneys. Representative kidney sections from (A) WT, (B) Ilk+/+;Pkd1fl/fl;Pkhd1-Cre (Ilk+/+ PKD), (C) Ilkfl/+;Pkd1fl/fl;Pkhd1-Cre (Ilk+/−PKD), and (D) Ilkfl/fl;Pkd1fl/fl;Pkhd1-Cre (Ilk−/− PKD) mice were stained with an antibody to cleaved caspase-3 to visualize apoptotic cells (brown staining). All images were taken at the same magnification. Scale bar=50 µm. (E) Total number of cleaved caspase-3–positive cells in the entire section was counted and normalized to the noncystic surface area of the kidney (represented as percentage cleaved caspase). Data are means±SEM for kidneys from three mice per group. *P<0.05 compared with WT, ###P<0.001 compared with Ilk+/+ PKD.