Fig. 5
a Photomicrographs of kidney tissue stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Original magnification × 1000; bars = 100 μm. Mice were inoculated with 5 × 106 parasitized RBCs or saline and treated with BM-MSCs. Uninfected mice treated or not with BM-MSCs also showed normal kidney architecture (black arrows). In P. berghei-infected mice treated with saline, mesangial proliferation occurred in the glomeruli (*) with hydropic degeneration of kidney tubular epithelium (#) and increased deposition of malaria pigment (arrowhead). In P. berghei-infected mice treated with BM-MSCs, normal mesangial cell architecture (*) and tubular cells (#), and sparse deposition of malaria pigment (arrowhead) were observed. b A semiquantitative, severity-based score was used to measure malaria pigment deposition, inflammation, fibrosis, and histoarchitectural damage in kidneys of mice infected with P. berghei or mock-infected with saline and, 24 hours after infection, treated with BM-MSCs. Values are expressed as median (interquartile range) of six animals in each group. *Significantly different from uninfected group (p <0.05). +Significantly different from P. berghei-infected group (p <0.05). #Significantly different from uninfected untreated group (p <0.05). BM-MSC bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cell, Sal saline