Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhance Therapeutic Effect and Prevent Adverse Gastrointestinal Reaction of Methotrexate Treatment in Collagen-Induced Arthritis

Figure 1

Combined use of UCs and MTX enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of MTX. (a) The therapeutic design of the CIA mice. (b, c) Combined use of MTX and UCs showed the mildest paw swelling and bone erosion. (d) H&E staining showed that the MTX+UC group had the best effect on suppressing synovitis, erosion, and inflammatory cell infiltration compared to the other three groups. (e) Mean arthritis score of four groups was evaluated every week. , MTX vs. CIA; ^&, UC vs. CIA; ^#, MTX+UC vs. CIA. (f) Histological score evaluation in four groups. ; ; ns: no significance (). (g) Combination of MTX and UCs protected CIA mice from severe weight loss caused by MTX. , MTX vs. CIA; ^&, MTX+UC vs. MTX; ^#, UC vs. MTX. (h) Combination of MTX and UCs prolonged the lifespan of the mice treated by MTX. Scale bar, 250 μm. per group. Data are shown as .

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h)