Fig. 2

Hypo-SF-MSCs attenuate renal fibrosis more strongly than normo-SF-MSCs in IRI rats. a, b Western blot analysis of α-SMA and TGF-β1 in the kidney cortex of IRI rats at day 21 post-IRI. Graphs show densitometric analyses of α-SMA and TGF-β1 expression levels normalized to the GAPDH expression level (n = 5 in each group). c Expression levels of TGF-β1 and collagen type I and III mRNAs in the kidney cortex of IRI rats at day 21 post-IRI (n = 5 in each group). d Representative images of immunohistochemical staining of α-SMA as well as HE and Masson trichrome staining of kidney sections at day 21 post-IRI (scale bar = 100 µm). e Quantification of the interstitial fibrosis area and α-SMA-positive area as percentages of the total area (n = 5 in each group). Data are means ± S.D. ^#P < 0.01, *P < 0.05 (one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s post-hoc test)