Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 7 pp 10326—10353

Figure 9. Carminic acid hinds oxidative stress by improving Nrf-2 signaling in kidney of Fru-treated mice. (A) Assessments of ROS production, MDA levels, SOD activity and H₂O₂ levels in kidney samples of mice. n = 8 in each group. (B) Immunohistochemistry analysis for 8-OHdG and 4-HNE in renal sections (Scale bar = 50 μm). Red arrows indicated the positive-staining area. n = 4 in each group. (C) Oxidative stress-associated genes were measured by RT-qPCR analysis. n = 4 in each group. (D) Nuclear Nrf-2, (E) cytoplastic Keap-1 and Nrf-2 protein expression levels were evaluated using western blotting assays. n = 4 in each group. The results are expressed as the means ± SEM. ^*P< 0.05, ^**P< 0.01 and ^**P< 0.001 compared with the Ctrl group; ⁺P< 0.05 and ⁺⁺P< 0.01 compared with the Fru group.