Fig. 2

A IHC staining of ALPK1 (a, b), Caspase-1 (c, d), GSDMD (e, f) and CD68 (g, h) in renal tissues (scale bar, 50 μm; magnification ×200). A1 Renal cortical relative expression of ALPK1 in renal biopsies of patients with GML and DN. A2 Quantification of the number of CD68⁺ macrophages in renal biopsies of patients with GML and DN. Blood glucose levels (B) and 24-h urine protein levels (C) in DN and GML patients. Correlations between ALPK1 expression and the number of CD68⁺ macrophages (D), eGFR (E) and tubular atrophy (IFTA) scores (F). Correlations between the number of CD68⁺ macrophages per field and eGFR (G). Correlations between the number of CD68⁺ macrophages per field and tubular atrophy (IFTA) scores (H). GML glomerular minimal lesion, DN diabetic nephropathy, AOD Average Optical Density, AU arbitrary units, eGFR estimated glomerular filtration rate, IFTA interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy. Data were presented as mean ± SD (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001)