Interferon-γ priming enhances the therapeutic effects of menstrual blood-derived stromal cells in a mouse liver ischemia-reperfusion model

Figure 6 Interferon-γ-primed menstrual blood-derived stromal cells enhanced autophagy in mouse livers. A: Representative TEM images were used to determine the number of autophagic vacuoles in liver tissues from each experimental group. Scale bar 2 μm. The images in the second row are partial magnifications of the regions indicated by the red box; B: The number of autophagosomes was counted by TEM. The data are expressed as the means ± SEMs (n = 3/group); C: The expression of p-AMPK, AMPK, p-mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR), mTOR, LC3, and ACTB in liver tissues was determined by western blotting; D: The relative normalized expression was quantified based on the intensities of the western blot bands (n = 3/group). The data are presented as the means ± SEMs. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01, ^cP < 0.001, ^dP < 0.0001. NS represents not statistically significant. All P values were obtained by one-way ANOVA. MenSCs: Menstrual blood-derived stromal cells; IFN-γ: Interferon-γ; IR: Ischemia-reperfusion; IRM: Combination treated with ischemia-reperfusion and menstrual blood-derived stromal cells; IRM (IFN-γ): Combination treated with ischemia-reperfusion and interferon-γ-primed menstrual blood-derived stromal cells; TEM: Transmission electron microscopy; AMPK: The AMP-activated protein kinase signaling pathway; mTOR: Mammalian target of rapamycin; Tregs: Regulatory T cells.