COL1A1 and chronic kidney disease: Only CKD males showed significantly increased relative expression of collagen type I alpha 1 (Col1a1) (1.46 ± 0.07 vs. 0.93 ± 0.06, respectively, p < 0.05) (Figure 4D) and collagen type III alpha 1 (Col3a1) (1.71 ± 0.08 vs. 1.05 ± 0.09, respectively, p < 0.05) (Figure 4E) compared to their sex-matched sham-operated counterparts, confirming the histological results.