ShenShuai II Recipe Attenuates Apoptosis and Renal Fibrosis in Chronic Kidney Disease by Increasing Renal Blood Flow and Improving Oxygen Consumption

Figure 3

Effects of SSR on apoptosis in 5/6th (A/I) rats. (a) Representative image of TUNEL staining. Apoptotic cells are visualized as green (white arrow) and nuclei are stained with DAPI (blue). Images are shown at identical magnification, ×200. (b) Quantitative analysis for the numbers of TUNEL staining positive cells (n=4). (c) Protein expression of Bax, Bcl-2, and cleaved caspase-3 was determined by western blot. (d) The ratio of Bax to Bcl-2 protein was calculated (n=6). (e) The ratio of cleaved caspase-3 to GAPDH protein was calculated (n=6). (f) Representative image of IHC staining for cleaved caspase-3 (black arrow). Original magnification, ×200. (g) Representative image of IHC staining for HIF-1 (black arrow). Original magnification, ×200. (h) Semiquantitative analysis of cleaved caspase-3 positive staining (n=4). (i) Semiquantitative analysis of HIF-1α positive staining (n=4). Values are mean ± SE. P<0.05; P<0.01.