FIG 5.

Pretreatment with BS168 prevents increased calcium oxalate crystal aggregation and adhesion to renal epithelial cells. (A) Crystal aggregates were visualized by light microscopy after MDCK monolayers were pretreated with MEM with or without BS168 or UTI89 (positive control), followed by artificial urine with or without 5 mg/ml CaOx monohydrate. Bars, 200 μm. (B) The amounts of CaOx monohydrate crystals adhering to MDCK cells did not differ significantly between the CaOx groups with or without BS168 pretreatment. (C) Average crystal aggregate sizes did not differ significantly between the CaOx groups with or without BS168 pretreatment. Each point represents the average from three fields of view (FOV) in a single well of a 6-well plate, and the median for each group is indicated by a horizontal line. Three technical and three biological replicates were performed (n = 9). Significance was determined by a Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s multiple comparisons (*, P < 0.05; ***, P < 0.001; ns, not significant).