Fig. 5

Urine and renal chemokine levels in bradykinin 1 receptor (B1R) blockade treatment group and control group of MRL/lpr mice. Twenty-eight 4-month-old MRL/lpr mice were divided into a control group (n = 14) and a treatment group (n = 14) and administered the B1R antagonist SSR240612B1R or placebo for 12 weeks, as described above. Urine CCL2, CCL5, and CXCL9 levels were assayed by ELISA. Urine CCL2 and CCL5 were elevated in MRL/lpr group and B1R blockade treatment decreased urine CCL2 and CCL5 levels after 12 weeks of treatment (a, P = 0.0076; b, P = 0.0339). Urine CXCL9 levels showed no significant difference between the two groups (c). Renal CCL2 and CCL5 levels were elevated in MRL/lpr mice compared with B6 mice at 12 weeks (d, P = 0.0011; e, P = 0.0135). The B1R blockade treatment group revealed lower renal CCL2 and CCL5 levels than the control group (d, P = 0.0319; e, P = 0.0299). A non-parametric Mann–Whitney test was used to determine statistical significance. Taking into account the missing values (for deceased animals), the corrected P values were as follows: a: P <0.0001, b: P <0.0003, c: not significant; d: P <0.0001; and e: P <0.0001