Fig 1.
Nimbolide alleviates CLP-induced renal tissue damage. (A) H&E staining of kidney tissue. (B) Scr levels quantified using a commercial assay kit. (C) Serum BUN levels assessed with a commercially available kit. (D) Western blot analysis of NGAL and Kim-1 in kidney tissue. ***P < 0.001 (vs. Control), aP < 0.05 (vs. Nimbolide), and bbbP < 0.001 (vs. CLP). BUN, blood urea nitrogen; CLP, cecal ligation and puncture; H&E, hematoxylin and eosin; Scr, serum creatinine.
Fig 2.
Nimbolide alleviates CLP-induced renal tissue inflammation. Cytokine levels (IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α) in patients’ serum and kidney tissues were quantified using commercially available ELISA kits. ***P < 0.001 (vs. Control), aaaP < 0.001 (vs. Nimbolide), and bbP < 0.001 (vs. CLP). CLP, cecal ligation and puncture; IL-6, interleukin-6; IL-1β, interleukin-1β; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α.
Fig 3.
Nimbolide alleviates CLP-induced oxidative stress in kidney tissue. (A) MDA, (B) SOD, and (C) GSH levels measured in renal tissues using their corresponding kits. (D) ROS content in kidney tissue. ***P < 0.001 (vs. Control), aP < 0.05, aaP < 0.01, aaaP < 0.001 (vs. Nimbolide), bbP < 0.01, and bbbP < 0.001 (vs. CLP). CLP, cecal ligation and puncture; GSH, glutathione; MDA, malondialdehyde; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SOD, superoxide dismutase.
Fig 4.
Nimbolide alleviates CLP-induced cell apoptosis in kidney tissue. (A) Cell apoptosis in kidney tissue assessed using TUNEL staining. (B) Western blot analysis of Bax and Bcl-2 protein expression in renal tissues. (C) Western blot quantification of Bax and Bcl-2 in kidney tissues. ***P < 0.001 (vs. Control), aaaP < 0.001 (vs. Nimbolide), bP < 0.05, and bbP < 0.01 (vs. CLP). CLP, cecal ligation and puncture; DAPI, 4′,6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole; TUNEL, transferase dUTP nick end labeling.
Fig 5.
Nimbolide inhibits the NF-κB/STAT3 pathway. (A) Western blot analysis of p-p65, p65, p-STAT3 and STAT3 protein expression in renal tissues. (B) Scr and BUN levels quantified using a commercial assay kit. (C) Western blot quantification of Bax and cleaved-caspase in kidney tissues. ***P < 0.001 (vs. Control), aaaP < 0.001 (vs. Nimbolide), and bbbP < 0.001 (vs. CLP). BUN, blood urea nitrogen; CLP, cecal ligation and puncture; NF-κB, nuclear factor-κB; Scr, serum creatinine.