AS-IV ameliorates renal injury in <i>db/db</i> mice.

<p><b>(A)</b> PAS staining showing representative images of renal tissue from all groups. All images are shown at identical magnification, ×400. Asterisk indicates proximal tubule, arrow indicates mesangial cell, arrowhead indicates mesangial matrix. <b>(B)</b> Quantitative analysis of glomerular mesangial matrix fraction. <b>(C)</b> Quantitative analysis of proximal tubular area according to outer diameter. <b>(D)</b> AS-IV administration reduced excess excretion of urinary NAG. The data are presented as the means ± SEM, n = 6 mice per group. (^*<i>P</i><0.05, ^**<i>P</i><0.01 compared with the <i>db/m</i> group; ^#<i>P</i><0.05, ^##<i>P</i><0.01 compared with the <i>db/db</i> group). AS-IV: Astragaloside IV; NAG: N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase.