Tumor Necrosis Factor-Like Weak Inducer of Apoptosis Accelerates the Progression of Renal Fibrosis in Lupus Nephritis by Activating SMAD and p38 MAPK in TGF-β1 Signaling Pathway

Figure 5

Effects of LV-TWEAK-shRNA treatment on expressions of TGF-β1, p-p38 MAPK, and p-Smad2 proteins in kidneys of MRL/lpr mice. Total lysates of kidneys were collected for Western blotting to measure TGF-β1 (a), p-p38 MAPK (b), and p-Smad2 (c) protein expressions in MRL/lpr mice. The representative experiments were presented at the top. The ratios of TWEAK/β-actin IOD, p-p38 MAPK/p38 MAPK IOD, and p-Smad2/Smad2 IOD were shown at the bottom. Control: MRL/lpr mice treated with PBS; Control shRNA: MRL/lpr mice treated with LV-Control shRNA; TWEAK-shRNA: MRL/lpr mice treated with LV-TWEAK-shRNA; and MRL/MPJ: MRL/MPJ mice as normal control. The error bars represent the standard deviation. versus control MRL/lpr mice and versus MRL/MPJ mice.

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