2.5. Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion

Renal I/R was induced in rats as previously described [38]. Briefly, rats were anesthetized with 60 mg/kg (intraperitoneally) pentobarbital sodium and kept on homeothermic pad to maintain body temperature at 37°C. Kidneys were exposed by abdominal midline incisions, and the renal pedicles were clamped for 25 min to induce ischemia. After ischemia, the clamps were released for 48 h reperfusion. Sham control animals were subjected to identical operation without renal pedicle clamping. Surgical wounds were sutured and rats were given 1 mL of warm saline intraperitoneally and kept in a warm incubator until they regained consciousness. At 48 h after reperfusion, animals were sacrificed and plasma and tissue samples were collected and stored at −80°C until analysis.