Fig. 6
Effect of MFGE8-silenced EVs on tubular damage, collagen deposition, and inflammation in UUO kidneys. a The protein expressions of MFG-E8, HGF, PEDF, and Decorin in BMSCs and BMSC-EVs were detected by Western blot. b A representative Western blot showing the secretion of MFG-E8 from control, BMSC-EVs, BMSC-EVsCtrl, and BMSC-EVsshMFGE8. c The MFG-E8 levels in kidneys and HK-2 cells were detected by Western blot. d The protein levels of MFG-E8 were expressed as arbitrary densitometric units and normalized by the value of GAPDH. e Representative image of the HE staining from kidneys of UUO, UUO + EVsCtrl, and UUO + EVsshMFGE8 rats. The bar graph depicts tubular injury scores based on HE staining. Scale bar 100 μm. f Representative image of Masson’s trichrome staining from kidneys of UUO, UUO + EVsCtrl, and UUO + EVsshMFGE8 rats. The bar graph depicts renal interstitial fibrosis scores based on Masson’s trichrome staining. Scale bar 100 μm. g Representative images illustrating the infiltration of ED-1-positive macrophages of rat kidneys in different groups. Quantification of the number of ED-1-positive macrophages pre-field in different groups. Scale bar 150 μm. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 (compared with the UUO group); #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01, ###P < 0.001 (compared with the TGF-β1 group)