Fig. 3. STAT3 knockdown attenuates tissue injuries in kidneys of STZ-induced diabetic mice.

The animal treatment and groups were described in Methods section; n = 7 in each group. a Effect of AAV2/2-shSTAT3 on STAT3 expression and activation in mouse kidney tissues. Shown are representative western blots of p-STAT3 and STAT3; GAPDH as a loading control; Corresponding densitometric analysis of blots in panel a were normalized to loading control GAPDH or STAT3 and reported relative to Ctrl. b Blood glucose (mmol/L) was determined at the indicated weeks (from 0 to 17th week). c Body weight (g) of mice was recorded at the indicated times. d Ratio of kidney/body weight was determined. e Urinary albumin (g/L) as an index of renal function was determined. f Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of kidney tissue; shown are representative images from seven mice per group (arrows indicate structural derangements of tubular epithelia and interstitium), 400× amplification. For a, d, e, data are presented as means ± SEM, ^#p < 0.05, ^##p < 0.01, and ^###p < 0.001 versus AAV2/2-NC; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001 versus AAV2/2-NC+STZ