Effect of Angiotensin II and Small GTPase Ras Signaling Pathway Inhibition on Early Renal Changes in a Murine Model of Obstructive Nephropathy

Figure 5

Effect of atorvastatin administration on UUO-induced Ras pathway activation and fibrotic changes analyzed by Western blot. Protein expression of Ras (a), ERK1/2 (b), Akt ((c) and (d)), fibronectin (e), and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) (f) was detected by immunoblotting. Activation of Ras and ERK1/2 was measured as the ratio phosphorylated/total proteins. Bars represent the mean ± SEM of the optical density measured in nonobstructed (NO) and obstructed (O) kidney samples of vehicle (𝑛=3) and atorvastatin-treated animals (Atorv, 70 mg/kg; 𝑛=4). ^§𝑃<0.05 and ^∗𝑍>1.9600 versus NO vehicle-treated kidneys of UUO mice. ^#𝑃<0.05 versus O vehicle-treated kidneys.

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