Fig. 5

Sex hormones and gut microbiota cooperatively regulate LN. a Proteinuria after surgery (Mock vs. Castr/castration) and treatment (PBS vs. Lacto) of male lpr mice (n = 5 mice per group; Mann-Whitney test; ***P < 0.005). b Renal histopathology (n = 5 mice per group; Mann-Whitney test; *P < 0.05). Left: PAS-stained kidney sections; bar equals 100 μm. c Serum levels of IgG2a and IgA (n = 5 mice per group; *P < 0.05). d Transcript levels of TGFβ and IL-10 in the MLN (n = 5 mice per group; ^#P < 0.1, *P < 0.05). e Serum level of IL-10 (n = 5 mice per group; ***P < 0.005). f Levels of testosterone and luteinizing hormone (LH) in the blood (n = 3 mice per group; *P < 0.05). g Negative correlation between serum IL-10 and the ratio of LH to testosterone