Fig. 1

IL-17A deficiency aggravates STZ-induced DN. WT and IL-17A KO mice (n = 6/group) were injected with STZ (50 mg/mL) for 5 consecutive days (citrate buffer was administered to the control mice). The animals were euthanized 12 weeks after STZ injection. a Blood glucose (mg/dL), b serum BUN c kidney/body weight ratios were determined 12 weeks after STZ injection. d Representative histology of H&E staining, PAS staining, Sirius red staining, and immunohistochemistry for KIM-1 of the kidney. Quantification results for PAS staining (e), Sirius red staining (f), immunohistochemistry of KIM-1 (g). The mice were randomly assigned to four groups of six mice: (i) wild-type mice without STZ treatment (WT Cont group), (ii) STZ-treated WT diabetic mice (WT STZ group), (iii) IL-17A knockout (KO) mice without STZ treatment (IL-17A KO Cont group), and (iv) STZ-treated IL-17A KO diabetic mice (IL-17A KO STZ group). For (a–c, e–g), the data are presented as means ± SEM. ** < 0.01 and *** < 0.001 versus control group; ^## < 0.01 and ^### < 0.001 versus WT STZ group