Fig. 8

Treatment with HGC-TAC regulates the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/nuclear factor (NF)-κb signaling pathway in MRL/lpr mice. a, b Western blot analysis of TGF-β1, MAPKs, signal transducer, activator of transcription (STAT) 3, NF-κb, and protein levels from wild-type (WT), MRL/lpr mice treated with vehicle, or MRL/lpr mice treated with an equivalent dose of TAC or HGC-TAC. c Relative protein intensities are presented. The values for the WT vehicle-treated group are set to 1. (n = 6 mice/group). d, e Immunohistochemical staining of kidney sections for TGF-β1 and NF-κB p65 from each group. Original magnification ×400, Bar = 25 μm. f Staining for TGF-β1 and NF-κB p65 in the glomerulus was quantified and expressed as a percentage of positive glomerular area. All values are presented as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001. ns not statistically significant