Fig. 5

aBMSC and BMSCs inhibited T cell activation and proliferation. Primary PBMCs prelabeled with CFSE (2 × 10⁵) were cultured in the presence or absence of aBMSCs or BMSCs (1 × 10⁴) with or without a T cell activator for 5 days. Non-adherent cells were harvested and analyzed by flow cytometry using PE-CD4 and APC-CD8 antibodies to label T cells. a–d Representative flow cytometric density plots of PBMCs and histograms of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells. a Naïve PBMCs cultured alone without activator (negative control). b PBMCs cultured alone with activator (positive control). c PBMCs cultured with aBMSCs and activator. d PBMCs cultured with BMSCs and activator. e–f The division times and the percentage of divided cells in CD4⁺ (e) and CD8⁺ T cells (f) at day 5 normalized according to the positive and negative controls. g The IFN-γ levels in the culture medium at day 5 in the indicated treatment groups determined by ELISA. **P < 0.01. ***P < 0.001. ****P < 0.0001. n = 4 for PBMC cultured alone with activator, n = 12 for PBMCs cocultured with aBMSCs from three different donors, and n = 11 for PBMCs cocultured with BMSCs from three different donors