PF alleviates HG-induced filtration barrier injury via the AMPK pathway. (A) Permeability of GEnCs to FITC-dextran. (B) Expression levels of Sdc-1 in the cell culture supernatant. (C) Western blot analysis of Hpa-1, ZO-1 and occludin-1. Densitometry analysis of (D) Hpa-1, (E) ZO-1 and (F) occludin-1. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation of three repeats. *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001 vs. control. #P<0.05, ##P<0.01, ###P<0.001 vs. HG; $P<0.05, $$P<0.01 vs. HG + PF or siCon + HG + PF. PF, piperazine ferulate; HG, high glucose; AMPK, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase; GEnCs, glomerular endothelial cells; FITC, fluorescein isothiocyanate; Sdc-1, syndecan-1; Hpa-1, heparanase-1; ZO-1, Zonula occludens-1; si, small interfering; NC, negative control.