Fig. 2

Inhibition of autophagy moderately suppresses tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) plus interferon gamma (IFN-γ)-induced apoptosis of MSCs. a Levels of cytokines in sera of naive mice (n = 8 mice per group) and cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) mice (n = 10 mice per group) were determined by ELISA. Data are shown as mean ± SEM. b Naive or CLP mice were treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS; n = 6 mice per group), shNC-MSCs (shNC; n = 6 mice per group) or shBec1-MSCs (shBecn1; n = 6 mice per group) intravenously (1 × 10⁶ cells/mouse) for 8 hours after the surgery. Levels of cytokines in sera of naive mice and CLP mice were determined by ELISA. Data are shown as mean ± SEM. c shNC-MSCs and shBec1-MSCs were stimulated with TNF-α (20 ng/ml) plus IFN-γ (50 ng/ml) or starved with EBSS for 24 hours, and then the cells were harvested and stained with annexin V/prodium iodide (PI). d Percentage of MSC apoptosis after treatment with TNF-α plus IFN-γ; data are shown as mean ± SEM of five independent experiments. **P < 0.01. CTRL Control