The mechanism described above. Thus, the present study was designed to investigate the effects of IPC on renal IRI induced by PN, as well as the possible mechanisms in an experimental model of PN.Materials and Methods Animals and Surgical ProceduresNinety male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 250?00 g and aged 2? months were bred and housed in the animal house of the Experimental Animal Centre affiliated with Nanjing First Hospital. The rats were housed in individual cages at 20?5uC with a 12 h: 12 h light-dark cycle, and fed standard laboratory chow and tap water ad libitum, but were Ergocalciferol fasted for 24 h prior to surgery. All animal procedures were approved by the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments of Nanjing Medical University.All rats were anaesthetized using sodium pentobarbital (50 mg/ kg i.p.) and placed on 23115181 a warming table to maintain a rectal temperature of 37uC. A transverse 1 cm lumbotomy incision was performed and the rats were randomly divided into three groups of 30 animals following right-side nephrectomy. For the shamoperated group, the left renal artery was separated without clamping of the renal artery. For the PN group, the left kidney was isolated from the abdomen, the renal pedicle was blocked with a non-traumatic vascular clamp for 40 min while a lower pole PN was performed, and the kidney was covered using a piece of gauze soaked with warm isotonic saline (37uC). For the IPC group, the left renal artery was blocked for 15 min, and then reperfused for 10 min before a 40-min occlusion and PN. The rats were anesthetized again using sodium pentobarbital (i.p.) to harvest the pool of circulating EPCs and to sample the left kidney at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 h and 3 days following reperfusion (each group contained five rats per time point). The abdomen was opened and the left kidney was perfused with PBS and then rapidly removed; one third of each kidney was fixed in 4 formalin to assay the extent of renal injury and EPC number as well as cell proliferation and angiogenesis in periMedChemExpress ��-Sitosterol ��-D-glucoside tubular capillaries. One-third of the kidney was saved on ice for monoplast suspensions and the residual kidney was rapidly frozen in liquid N 2, and stored at 280uC for the detection of vascular growth factor expression.Figure 2. Renal tissue histological examination at 24 h following reperfusion. Renal sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and examined using light microscopy at a magnification6200. A. Sham rats exhibited minimal pathological changes in the kidneys. B. Following PN, more severe lesions were observed in renal tubules, with tubular atrophy, dilatation, and intratubular casts, as well as congestion in the peritubular capillaries, massive epithelial cells, atrophic epithelial lining, and intraluminal necrotic debris. C. IPC caused a significant reduction in the severity of acute tubular necrosis. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055389.gIschemic Preconditioning and 1317923 RenoprotectionTable 1. Histopathologic scores in the three treatment groups at various time-points.1h Sham PN IPC 0 1.4060.55* 1.2060.45*3h 0 0.8060.84* 1.0060.71*6h 0 2.0060.71* 1.8060.84*12 h 0.2060.45 3.0060.71* 1.8060.45*#24 h 0 3.6060.55* 2.6060.55*#72 h 0 3.0060.71* 2.2060.45*All data are expressed as mean 6 SD. *P,0.05, vs. sham group. #P,0.05, vs. PN group. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055389.tBiochemical ExaminationBlood (2 ml) was obtained from the inferior vena cava. Samples were centrifuged at 2000 g for 10 min and the supernatants were collected to measure serum.The mechanism described above. Thus, the present study was designed to investigate the effects of IPC on renal IRI induced by PN, as well as the possible mechanisms in an experimental model of PN.Materials and Methods Animals and Surgical ProceduresNinety male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 250?00 g and aged 2? months were bred and housed in the animal house of the Experimental Animal Centre affiliated with Nanjing First Hospital. The rats were housed in individual cages at 20?5uC with a 12 h: 12 h light-dark cycle, and fed standard laboratory chow and tap water ad libitum, but were fasted for 24 h prior to surgery. All animal procedures were approved by the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments of Nanjing Medical University.All rats were anaesthetized using sodium pentobarbital (50 mg/ kg i.p.) and placed on 23115181 a warming table to maintain a rectal temperature of 37uC. A transverse 1 cm lumbotomy incision was performed and the rats were randomly divided into three groups of 30 animals following right-side nephrectomy. For the shamoperated group, the left renal artery was separated without clamping of the renal artery. For the PN group, the left kidney was isolated from the abdomen, the renal pedicle was blocked with a non-traumatic vascular clamp for 40 min while a lower pole PN was performed, and the kidney was covered using a piece of gauze soaked with warm isotonic saline (37uC). For the IPC group, the left renal artery was blocked for 15 min, and then reperfused for 10 min before a 40-min occlusion and PN. The rats were anesthetized again using sodium pentobarbital (i.p.) to harvest the pool of circulating EPCs and to sample the left kidney at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 h and 3 days following reperfusion (each group contained five rats per time point). The abdomen was opened and the left kidney was perfused with PBS and then rapidly removed; one third of each kidney was fixed in 4 formalin to assay the extent of renal injury and EPC number as well as cell proliferation and angiogenesis in peritubular capillaries. One-third of the kidney was saved on ice for monoplast suspensions and the residual kidney was rapidly frozen in liquid N 2, and stored at 280uC for the detection of vascular growth factor expression.Figure 2. Renal tissue histological examination at 24 h following reperfusion. Renal sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and examined using light microscopy at a magnification6200. A. Sham rats exhibited minimal pathological changes in the kidneys. B. Following PN, more severe lesions were observed in renal tubules, with tubular atrophy, dilatation, and intratubular casts, as well as congestion in the peritubular capillaries, massive epithelial cells, atrophic epithelial lining, and intraluminal necrotic debris. C. IPC caused a significant reduction in the severity of acute tubular necrosis. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055389.gIschemic Preconditioning and 1317923 RenoprotectionTable 1. Histopathologic scores in the three treatment groups at various time-points.1h Sham PN IPC 0 1.4060.55* 1.2060.45*3h 0 0.8060.84* 1.0060.71*6h 0 2.0060.71* 1.8060.84*12 h 0.2060.45 3.0060.71* 1.8060.45*#24 h 0 3.6060.55* 2.6060.55*#72 h 0 3.0060.71* 2.2060.45*All data are expressed as mean 6 SD. *P,0.05, vs. sham group. #P,0.05, vs. PN group. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055389.tBiochemical ExaminationBlood (2 ml) was obtained from the inferior vena cava. Samples were centrifuged at 2000 g for 10 min and the supernatants were collected to measure serum.
