Fig. 7
MSCs activated p38 MAPK signaling and reduced inflammation and kidney injury in adenine-induced rats. A Immunohistochemistry and western blot of p38 MAPK and Kim-1 in kidney tissues. B Western blot analysis of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNFα in kidney tissue. Representative immunohistochemical staining images in kidney sections (scale bar, 100 μm) and representative western blot images of p38 MAPK protein at 5 days post-MSCs treatment. The statistical graph shows the densitometric analysis of p38 MAPK expression normalized to GAPDH expression, and of Kim-1, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNFα expression normalized to β-actin expression. All experiments were repeated at least 3 times, and similar results were obtained each time. N = 3 (per group), data are presented as mean ± SD, analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post hoc testing. *P < 0.05, vs. control group. #P < 0.05 vs. adenine group. C Microarray analysis of cytokine antibodies revealed that a total of 17 cytokines increased in the serum, such as CINC-1, CINC-2, CINC-3, GM-CSF, ICAM-1, IFNγ, IL-1α, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, L-Selectin, MCP-1, PDGF-AA, Prolactin R, RAGE, TCK-1, TIMP-1, and VEGF, and a total of 8 cytokines decreased, including b-NGF, CNTF, Fractalkine, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-13, LIX, and TNFα in the adenine group. Among them, there were significantly statistical differences in both increases in ICAM-1, IL-10, and L-Selectin and reduction in IL-1β. While MSCs treatment reduced the serum levels of 18 upregulated cytokines and increased the serum levels of 8 downregulated cytokines. N = 5 (in each group), the mean value of four replicates was first calculated as the signal value of each factor, then the signal value was normalized to positive control to allow comparison between subarrays, and finally, the concentration was relatively quantified by using the normalized data. The intergroup ratio of 27 factors was calculated, and the P values between groups were analyzed by t TEST (double-tailed)