Histopathological Changes in the Kidney following Congestive Heart Failure by Volume Overload in Rats

Figure 6

Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy of caspase-3 (red fluorescence) using an antibody detecting pro-caspase-3 recombinant protein (A–D) or cleaved caspase-3-recombinant protein (E–H) with DAPI-counterstained nuclei (blue fluorescence) in the kidney sections of control or ACF adult rats. (A–D) Note that caspase-3 immunoreactivity was confined primarily to well-defined subcellular organelles like structures in renal tubular cells within the kidney in control rats. In contrast in ACF rats, caspase-3 immunofluorescence was transferred into the perinuclear area of cells or inside the nuclei of renal tubular cells (C and D) indicating an activation of proapoptotic factor caspase-3. (E–H) Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy caspase-3 (red fluorescence) and DAPI-counterstained nuclei (blue fluorescence) in kidney sections using an antibody detecting exclusively cleaved caspase-3-recombinant protein. (G and H) showed that cleaved caspase-3 immunoreactivity was confined primarily to perinuclear area of cells or nuclei within renal tubular cells of ACF rat kidney (D); however, no staining was found in the control (F). Bar = 20 μm.

(a)

(b)