Figure 2.

Inhibition of expression of α-SMA and FSP-1 by tangeretin in glucose-exposed podocytes (A) and diabetic kidney (C). Podocytes were incubated in media containing 5.5 mM glucose, 5.5 mM glucose plus 27.5 mM mannitol as osmotic controls or 33 mM glucose in the absence and presence of 1–20 μM tangeretin for 4 days (A). The db/db mice were orally supplemented with 10 mg/kg tangeretin for 10 weeks (B,C). Cell lysates and kidney extracts were electrophoresed on 10–15% SDS-PAGE and subject to Western blot analysis with a primary antibody against α-SMA and FSP-1 (A,C). β-Actin antibody was used as an internal control. The bar graphs (mean ± SEM, n = 3) represent quantitative results of blot bands obtained from a densitometer. Respective values not sharing a letter are different at p < 0.05. Immunohistochemical staining showing glomerular tissue levels of α-SMA of diabetic mouse kidney (C). The α-SMA of mouse kidneys was confirmed by FITC-green staining. Each photograph is representative of four mice. Scale bar = 200 μm.