Fig. 3

Immunomodulation of CD146⁺ and CD146^– cells in vitro. IL-6 and TGF-β1 expression on CD146⁺ and CD146^– cells was analyzed by flow cytometry and ELISA. MSCs were treated with or without 10 ng/ml TNFα for 3 days, and the concentrations of IL-6 and TGF-β1 were measured intracellularly and in the supernatants a–c. CD4⁺ Foxp3⁺ cells and CD4⁺ IL-17A⁺ cells were cocultured with TNFα-pretreated CD146⁺ cells or CD146^– cells for 2 days. The T cells were analyzed by flow cytometry (d Treg cells; e Th17 cells) and ELISA (f left IL-10, right IL-17). Data are expressed as mean ± SEM from five independent experiments. *P <0.05, **P <0.01, ***P ≤0.001. Ctrl control, IL interleukin, TGF-β transforming growth factor beta, TH17 T-helper type 17, TNFα tumor necrosis factor alpha, Treg regulatory T