Intra-Articular Injection of Human Synovial Membrane-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Murine Collagen-Induced Arthritis: Assessment of Immunomodulatory Capacity In Vivo

Figure 2

Decrease in severity of CIA following SM-MSC treatment. (a) Experimental design. DBA/1 mice were subcutaneously immunized with 200 μg CII in Freund’s complete adjuvant on day 0 and administered a booster dose via intradermal injection of 100 μg CII into the tail on day 21. The CII-immunized mice were treated three times with SM-MSCs (10⁶) in 7 μL PBS or PBS alone intra-articularly when arthritis had been established (n = 8 per group). The arthritis index score and hind paw thickness of mice in each group were recorded following booster immunization. (b) Representative photos of the paws in normal mice, PBS-treated mice, and SM-MSC-treated mice. (c) Arthritis severity was scored every 2 days, and (d) hind paw thickness was measured every 6 days. (e) Histological sections of the ankle joints (right) were stained with H&E (magnification, ×40). The asterisks denote the presence of inflammatory infiltrates, the arrows indicate synovial hyperplasia, and the arrowheads show the formation of pannus layer. Data have been presented as meanSD values. , compared with corresponding time point.

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