Fig 2: Albuminuria was reduced in MC1R agonist treated PHN rats.After four weeks of MS05 treatment (n = 17), the urinary albumin- to-creatinine ratio (UACR) was significantly reduced compared to untreated PHN (n = 14; p<0.01). One week after treatment withdrawal (week 5), albuminuria was further reduced in MS05-treated (n = 17) compared to untreated PHN rats (n = 13; p<0.05). Results are presented as geometrical mean ± SEM.

Fig 3: MC1R agonists did not reduce albuminuria in adriamycin-treated mice.(A) Five different doses of adriamycin, in the range of 5–10 mg/kg, were intravenously injected and the level of albuminuria was measured after 7 days. The urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) increased with increasing levels of adriamycin. (B) Albuminuria at day 7. Treatment with the MC1R agonist BMS-470539 did not reduce the level of albuminuria for the 8 mg/kg adriamycin dose, on the contrary it slightly increased albuminuria for the 10 mg/kg dose (n = 17–19, p<0.05). The unspecific melanocortin receptor agonist a-MSH did not have any significant effect (n = 9, n.s.) compared with untreated adriamycin mice. Results are presented as mean ± SEM.

Fig 4: Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) does not differ in untreated adriamycin mice compared with MC1R agonist treated mice.BUN was measured in plasma samples taken from mice 8–10 days after injection of adriamycin. There was no difference between the groups (n = 9–10, n.s.). Results are presented as mean ± SEM.