Fig. 1

TLR4- and IFN-γ-activated MSC alleviated liver granulomatous and fibrosis in mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum, compared with unpretreated MSC; however, TLR2-activated MSC display aggravated immunopathology. Mice (n = 10 per infected group) were infected with 16 ± 2 cercariae and sacrificed 8 weeks post-infection. Body weight per week (A) and mortality rate (data from four repeated experiments) (B) were analyzed, and histological change were evaluated. Representative granulomatous was shown by HE staining and by Masson staining (C1), and the sum of the granulomatous area was measured by computer-assisted morphometric analysis (C2). Fibrosis was quantitatively compared by evaluated microgram of liver hydroxyproline per gram of the liver tissue among different groups (C3). Data are presented as the means ± SEM from 5 to 7 mice in each group. *P < 0.05. n.s., not significant