Fig. 5.

Lentivirus-mediated Smad3 KD effectively reduced cisplatin-induced injury and programmed cell death in vivo. a Western blot of NOX4. Smad3 KD was confirmed in vivo. b, c BUN and serum Cr analyses. Smad3 silencing reduced cisplatin-induced renal injury. d PAS staining. Smad3 KD reduced renal injury in cisplatin nephropathy. e HE staining. f Western blot and quantitative data. Protein levels of KIM1, RIPK1, RIPK3, and cleaved caspase-3 were reduced in Smad3 KD mice. g Real-time PCR of KIM1. Smad3 KD significantly reduced the mRNA level of KIM1 in vivo. Data are mean ± SEM for 6–8 mice. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 versus control; #p < 0.01, ##p < 0.01, ###p < 0.001 versus Smad3 vector control + cisplatin. Magnification, ×20. PAS, periodic acid-Schiff; EV, empty vector; KD, knockdown.