BrdU-positive cells were rarely observed in normal (data not shown) or contralateral kidneys, panel (A)).
The expression of CD68, a macrophage marker, was not observed in normal, panel (A)) or contralateral kidneys, panel (B)).
No expression of α-SMA was observed in normal, panel (A)) and contralateral kidneys, panel (B)) except in vascular smooth muscle cells.
Most BrdU-positive cells were localized in tubular cells, panel (C)) and some were present in the interstitium of UUO kidneys, panel (D)).
In contrast, CD68-positive cells were observed in the interstitium of saline-treated UUO kidneys, panels (C) and (E)) and follistatin-treated UUO kidneys, panels (D) and (F)).
Tubular dilation and atrophy were observed in the saline-treated UUO kidneys, panels (B) and (E)).
PAS staining demonstrated normal architecture in normal, sham-operated (data not shown), and contralateral kidneys, panels (A) and (D)).
The interstitial fibrotic area in the follistatin-treated kidneys was slightly reduced when compared to that in the saline-treated kidneys, panels (B) and (D)).
In contrast, expression of α-SMA was abundantly detected in the interstitium of the saline-treated UUO kidneys, panels (C) and (E)).
Masson-trichrome staining revealed the presence of interstitial fibrotic changes in the saline-treated UUO kidneys, panels (A) and (C)), but not in normal or contralateral kidneys (data not shown).
