Fig. 5

Anti-fibrotic effects of MPs or rhEPO in UUO kidneys. A Microscopic analysis of Masson’s trichrome and Sirius red-stained UUO kidney sections. Sham-operated control (a, f), obstructed kidney treated with vehicle control (b, g), and UUO kidneys treated with MOCK-MPs (c, h), hEPO-MPs (d, i), and rhEPO (e, j). MPs and rhEPO significantly attenuated renal interstitial fibrosis as quantified using Image J and MetaMorph software (B, C). Immunohistochemical analysis of α-SMA expression in sham-operated control (k) and UUO kidneys treated with the vehicle control (l), MOCK-MPs (m), hEPO-MPs (n), and rhEPO (o). MPs and rhEPO significantly attenuated α-SMA expression in obstructed kidneys (D). Immunohistochemical analysis of F4/80-positive cells in sham-operated control (p) and UUO kidneys treated with vehicle control (q), MOCK-MPs (r), hEPO-MPs (s), and rhEPO (t). MPs and rhEPO significantly attenuated the infiltration of F4/80-positive macrophage/inflammatory cells in obstructed kidneys. Quantitative assessment of renal F4/80-positive macrophage/inflammatory cells (E). Magnification, × 400 and × 1000 (for inserts). Scale bars, 50 μm (black). Data are presented as the mean ± SD; n = 5 for each experimental group. ^aP < 0.05 vs. sham control, ^bP < 0.05 vs. UUO+vehicle, ^cP < 0.05 vs. UUO+MOCK-MPs, ^dP < 0.05 vs. UUO+hEPO-MPs