Furthermore, RT-qPCR analysis depicted that the mRNA levels of proinflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-1β and TGF-β) in CI-AKI rats were much higher than those in the control rats (TNF-α: 1.00 ± 0.12 vs. 4.15 ± 0.42, p˂0.001; IL-1β: 1.00 ± 0.15 vs. 5.42 ± 0.56, p˂0.001; TGF-β: 1.00 ± 0.09 vs. 4.18 ± 0.42, p˂0.001), which indicated that contrast agent triggered marked inflammatory response in the kidney of rats (Fig. 4D-F). Here, TGFB1 is linked to acute kidney injury.