Progenitor cells as remote "bioreactors": Neuroprotection via modulation of the systemic inflammatory response

Figure 3 Effect of intravenous injection of BMSCs on the course of sepsis after cecal ligation and puncture. A: Survival curves of mice after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) and a variety of treatments using BMSCs from C57/BL6, FVB/NJ and BALB/c mice, as well as C57/BL6-derived fibroblasts; B: BMSC treatment effects on kidney function, as reflected by serum concentration of creatinine (SCr). The number of mice in all measurements is as follows: sham, n = 5; CLP, n = 13; CLP + BMSC, n = 14. Tubular injury scores are shown at right; C: Intense PAS staining of hepatocytes is shown after sham operation and BMSC treatment. No staining can be seen in CLP. After treatment (CLP + BMSC), the red staining by PAS in hepatocytes indicates partial glycogen storage capacity. Scale bar, 20 μm; D: Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) concentrations in the liver after sham and BMSC, CLP or CLP and BMSC treatment; E: Serum amylase concentrations after sham and BMSC, CLP or CLP and BMSC treatment; F: DAB staining of caspase-3 cells in untreated spleen sections and BMSC-treated spleen sections. A quantitative comparison between the numbers of apoptotic splenic cells in treated versus untreated mice (right) shows a significant decrease with BMSC treatment. Scale bar, 100 μm; G: Serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 concentrations after sham and BMSC, CLP or CLP and BMSC treatment; H: Serum IL-10 concentrations at 3, 6 and 12 h after CLP. n = 8-11 at each time point. Error bars represent means ± SE; ^aP < 0.05; ^bP < 0.01. Reproduced with permission[36].