Fig. 5

The UC-MSCs at the lower passage exhibit superiority in therapeutic effect on GVHD mice in vivo. a Schematic of the establishment of aGVHD mouse model and MSC transplantation. Briefly, bone marrow cells (BMCs) and spleen cells (SCs) were collected from C57BL/6 donor mice, then BMCs and SCs were mixed by 1:1 and transfused into the recipient BALB/c mice with 10 Gy total body irradiation (TBI) treatment via tail intravenous injection under sterile conditions to induce aGVHD. The aGVHD mice were randomly divided into the Ctr group (with 1× PBS injection) and experimental groups (GVHD+MSCs: P3, P6, P15). b Overall survival in aGVHD mice given hUC-MSCs at various passages (GVHD+P3, GVHD+P6, GVHD+P15) or not given MSCs (GVHD). c GVHD scores of mice in the Ctr group and experimental groups (GVHD+MSCs: P3, P6, P15) following induction of the model. d Body weight of mice in the Ctr group and experimental groups (GVHD+MSCs: P3, P6, P15) following induction of the model. e Microscopic features of the liver, lung, and skin at the time point of necropsy in the Ctr group and experimental groups (GVHD+MSCs: P3, P6, P15). Scale bar = 100 μm. Pathological scores of the liver (f), lung (g), and skin (h) based on the sections of H&E staining. Data shown as mean ± SEM (n = 3). *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; NS, not significant