Figure 1.

Neutralizing the anti-TWEAK antibody alleviated renal interstitial fibrosis. Thirteen-week-old MRL/lpr mice were treated via intraperitoneal injections of either 2 mg/kg anti-TWEAK antibody or 2 mg/kg isotype control antibody every other day for 56 days. (A) Masson’s trichrome and Sirius red staining were used to measure the deposition of collagen fibers in the renal interstitium (n = 7/group) (scale bar, 50 μm). (B) Interstitial fibrosis scores were evaluated blindly by the same pathologist (n = 7/group). The expression levels of COL-I and fibronectin in the kidneys were detected using immunohistochemical staining (C) (scale bar, 100 μm) and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (D), respectively (n = 5/group). (E) The levels of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine were also determined (n = 7/group). The results are expressed as mean ± SEM; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.