Fig. 5.

Progenitor/stem cell engraftment within the kidneys after suprarenal aorta delivery. In the acute ischemia-reperfusion model, GFP-labeled c-Kit progenitor/stem cells exhibited multi-compartment engraftment, including tubules, as shown by E-cadherin co-staining (A, A’); glomeruli in Bowman’s capsule and podocyte (B), as shown by WT-1 co-staining (*); and vascular (C). GFP-MSCs engrafted within the kidneys less frequently when compared with GFP-labeled c-Kit progenitor/stem cells (D, E). GFP antibody was used in the control group (F). Adapted from the method of Rangel and colleagues¹³. In the acute proteinuria model induced by puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN), GFP-labeled c-Kit progenitor/stem cells also engrafted into multi-compartments of the kidneys (G). Cells in (F) co-stained for aquaporin-1 (AQP1) (H; insert shows 3D confocal image), smooth muscle actin (SMA) (arrow; 3D confocal image) (I), α-Actinin-4 (arrow) (J), synaptopodin (K, K’), and WT-1 (arrows) (L). GFP-labeled c-Kit progenitor/stem cells engrafted into tubules and glomeruli in higher numbers when compared with GFP-MSCs (M). Adapted from the method of Rangel and colleagues¹⁴. Scale bars represent 20 µm for confocal images.