Figure 4c shows representative images of WT-1 immunostaining, which represents a marker of podocyte damage22. Compared with that in the vehicle group, the number of WT-1 positive cells was significantly larger in the α-GalCer group (Fig. 4d). The IF nephrin staining score was also significantly higher in the α-GalCer group (Fig. 4e,f). These results suggested that podocyte injury was alleviated in the α-GalCer group.