Fig. 2

Effect of MSCs on leukocyte proliferation and the secretion profile of leukocytes. Leukocytes were cocultured with MSCs at passages 3, 5, and 7 at a ratio of 1:10 (MSCs:leukocytes) for 72 h. a Leukocyte proliferation was measured by flow cytometry. The data are represented as different stages of the cell cycle: G0/G1 phase, S phase, and M phase. The extent of leukocyte proliferation by MSCs did not change with an increase in passage number since there was no significant difference found in the number of leukocytes at different stages of the cell cycle among different passages. The effect of an increase in passage number of MSCs on the secretion of b anti-inflammatory and c proinflammatory cytokines by leukocytes was analyzed using ELISA array. The results indicate that MSCs at different passages had no significant effect on the secretion profile of leukocytes. Data are represented as mean ± SD (n = 3–4). GM-CSF, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor; IFN, interferon; IL, interleukin; LC, leukocytes alone; ML3, leukocytes cocultured with MSCs at P3; ML5, leukocytes cocultured with MSCs at P5; ML7, leukocytes cocultured with MSCs at P7; TNF, tumor necrosis factor