Figure 1

Renal function and renal tissue damage. Serum creatinine and urea nitrogen sharply increased at day 1, reached a plateau at day 3 to 5 and fell close to normal at day 14 (A). Tubular vacuolation and detachment, as well as protein casts, interstitial expansion and cellular infiltration were seen in the posttranplant kidneys (B). The score of tubulointerstitial damage (TID) assessed in H&E sections at 400× magnification showed that renal tissue damage was significantly more severe at day 2 and 5 post transplantation than post nephrectomy, marginally better at day 7, followed by gradual recovery at day 10 and 14 (C). Data are expressed as mean ± SEM (n = 3). Pre LN: pre left nephrectomy; Post N: post nephrectomy. *: P < 0.05; **: P < 0.01.