Fig. 1

Umbilical cord–derived mesenchymal stem cell transplantation alleviates 2-octynoic acid coupled to bovine serum albumin (2OA-BSA)–induced autoimmune cholangitis. a Schematic illustration of the experimental procedure. b Representative images of liver tissue sections by hematoxylin-and-eosin staining from control, primary biliary cholangitis, or umbilical cord–derived mesenchymal stem cell (UC-MSC)–treated mice, showing liver inflammation and the extent of bile duct damage. c Histological scores were assessed on the basis of lymphocytic infiltration and bile duct damage in the liver. d The serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) were measured. e The levels of anti-PDC-E2 autoantibodies were measured. Bars represent the mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM); n = 6 per group. *P <0.05, **P <0.01, ***P <0.001