ACTA1 and diabetes mellitus: Furthermore, quantitative RT-PCR assays revealed that NOX4 and α-SMA expression was upregulated in the kidneys of DM mice compared to control mice (Figure 1(a)), which was further confirmed by Western blotting assays (Figures 1(b) and 1(c)), ELISAs (Figures 1(d) and 1(f)), and immunohistochemistry (Figure 1(g)).