Fig. 4

Effects of EMPA on HMGCoAR, LDLr, SREBP-2, nSREBP-2 and SCAP expression in the kidneys of diabetic mice and HK-2 cells. The protein expression of HMGCoAR, LDLr, SREBP-2, nSREBP-2 and SCAP in the kidneys of mice (A) and in HK-2 cells (B) was determined by Western blotting. Image J was used to quantify the relative levels of proteins. GAPDH or Lamin A was used as an internal control. The values are expressed as the mean ± S.E.M. of 5 independent experiments. *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 versus the db/m group or the control cells (Ctr); ^#P < 0.05 and ^##P < 0.01, versus db/db group or AGEs-BSA treated cells; ^▲▲P < 0.01 versus the AGEs + db/db group