Fig. 4
Vitexin inhibited renal tubular ferroptosis induced by UUO. (A) Iron levels (Fe2+) in the renal tissues of sham or UUO mice treated with vitexin. (B) The levels of MDA and (C) the GSH/GSSG ratio in UUO mice treated with or without vitexin. (D) Real-time quantitative PCR analysis was used to examine the expression of GPX4, ACSL4, and PTGS2 in the UUO-induced mouse model with or without vitexin treatment. (E) WB was performed to determine MPO and GPX4 protein levels, which were normalized to GAPDH and quantitatively analyzed by ImageJ software. (F) Renal slices from the different groups were collected for IHC staining of GPX4 and (G) 4-HNE. The relative stained area is shown in the histograms. (H) The percentages of damaged mitochondria are indicated by TEM images of renal tubular cells in the vitexin-treated UUO mouse model. All data are shown as the mean ± S.D (n = 3/6). ****P < 0·0001, ***P < 0·001, **P < 0·01 (one-way ANOVA for A-C & E-H & GPX4 in D, two-way ANOVA for D)