Sphk2 in both immune cells and kidney microenvironment contribute to renal fibrosis.

<p>(A). Recipient wild-type and <i>Sphk2</i>^-/- mice were irradiated and injected with 1 × 10⁶ bone marrow cells obtained from WT or <i>Sphk2</i>^-/- mice by tail vein. 8 weeks after engraftment mice were subjected to UUO for 7 days and trichrome staining performed on kidney sections. Image J quantification (B) indicates that WT mice receiving WT cells have the highest degree of renal fibrosis, followed by <i>Sphk2</i>^<i>-/-</i> recipients receiving WT cells and WT mice receiving <i>Sphk2</i>^<i>-/-</i> bone marrow. <i>Sphk2</i>^<i>-/-</i> mice receiving <i>Sphk2</i>^<i>-/-</i> transplanted cells had the least fibrosis. N = 4/genotype. **p<0.01; *p<0.05. Original magnification; 20x objective. Scale bar; 50μm.