*2.7. Renal Morphology*

For assessing the morphological change, renal histology was evaluated using H&E, periodic acid-Schi ff (PAS) and Masson stained 5-μm para ffin sections based on at least 50 glomeruli per kidney section. PAS-stained sections were examined for glomerulosclerosis. One hundred glomeruli per section were randomly selected for assessing the degree of glomerular damage using a semi-quantitative scoring method: grade 0, normal glomeruli; grade 1, sclerotic area up to 25% (minimal sclerosis); grade 2, sclerotic area 25 to 50% (moderate sclerosis); grade 3, sclerotic area 50 to 75% (moderate-severe sclerosis); grade 4, sclerotic area 75 to 100% (severe sclerosis), as described previously [21].
