Kidney tissue RNA was extracted using TRIzol (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) according to the manufacturer‟s protocol and quantified using a Nanodrop before being stored in diethylpyrocarbonate-treated water at −80° C. cDNA was synthesized by reverse transcription (RT) reaction and targeted mRNAs were quantified by quantitative RT-PCR methods as previously described (21 (link)). Transcript expression was calculated using the comparative Ct method, normalized to GAPDH (2−ΔΔCt), and expressed as fold change over sham-NB. Expression of two acute kidney injury (AKI) biomarkers was measured: neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1). The primer sequences are as follows: GAPDH forward: 5‟-AACTTTGGCATTGTGGAAGG-3‟ and reverse: 5‟-GGATGCAGGGATGATGTTCT-3‟; KIM-1 forward: 5‟-CATTTAGGCCTCATACTGC-3‟ and reverse: 5‟-ACAAGCAGAAGATGGGCATT-3‟; and NGAL forward: 5‟-CTCAGAACTTGATCCCTGCC-3‟ and reverse: 5‟- TCCTTGAGGCCCAGAGACTT-3‟.