Fig. 3

Effect of iron administration on the log-transformed Ca (A) and Pi (B) contents and relative mRNA level of RUNX2 (C) in the aortas of the adenine-treated CKD rats fed a high-phosphorus diet and the correlations between the serum Pi and log-transformed aortic Pi (R = 0.41, p = 0.078) (D) or Ca (R = 0.50, p = 0.028) (E) contents, between the log-transformed aortic Pi and Ca contents (R = 0.97, p = 0.00001) (F) and between the serum Pi and aortic mRNA level of Nrf2 (R = 0.76, p = 0.003) (G). The No-Fe group, PO-Fe group and IP-Fe group were CKD rats without Fe administration, with peroral Fe administration and with intraperitoneal Fe administration, respectively. Data are expressed as the mean ± SD and were compared by one-way analysis of variance followed by the Tukey–Kramer test. Linear regression analyses were used to determine the correlations between parameters. A two-tailed p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Abbreviations: Ca, calcium; Pi, phosphate: Fe, iron