Fig. 2

aBMSCs and BMSCs inhibited TNF-α expression in THP-1 cells in response to LPS stimulation. THP-1 cells were cultured in the presence or absence of aBMSCs or BMSCs or their CM for 72 h before treated with 1 μg/mL LPS and 5 μg/mL brefeldin A for 4 h. The non-adherent cells were collected and analyzed by flow cytometry using PerCP/Cy5.5-CD90 and PE-TNF-α antibodies. a–e Representative flow cytometric density plots and histograms of CD90⁻ cells (THP-1 cells). a Isotype control. b Naive THP-1 cells without LPS stimulation. (c) THP-1 cells cultured alone and treated with LPS. d THP-1 cells cocultured with aBMSCs and treated with LPS. e THP-1 cells cocultured with BMSCs and treated with LPS. f Quantification of TNF-α⁺ THP-1 cells in CD90⁻ population of indicated treatment groups. **P < 0.01. ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001. n = 3 in each group, and aBMSCs and BMSCs were isolated from three different donors, respectively