Figure 2.

Treatment with adipose‐derived stromal cell‐derived miR‐20b‐3p‐enriched exosomes alleviates ethylene glycol (EG)‐induced kidney CaOx crystal deposition in rats. (A) RT‐PCR analyses of miR‐20b‐3p levels in the urine of kidney stone patients. (B and C) Photomicrographs of kidney sections from rats obtained under dark field illumination with polarized light. Retained crystals exhibit strong birefringence (200× magnification). (D) Levels of miR‐20b‐3p, ATG7 and TLR4 determined by RT‐PCR. Levels of ATG7 (E) and TLR4 (F) in kidney tissue were assessed by immunohistochemical staining and quantified (G). (H) Rat serum protein concentrations for IL‐1β, IL‐6 and TNF‐α determined by ELISA. (I) Inflammation‐related proteins TLR4, p65 and IkB determined by Western blotting and quantified. (J) Autophagy‐related proteins Atg7, P62 and LC3 determined by Western blotting and quantified. Data are presented as the mean ± SD (n = 6). **P < .01 and ***P < .001 vs control group; #P < .05, ##P < .01 and ###P < .001 vs EG group; $P < .05, $$P < .01 and $$$P < .001 vs EG + Exo group