Fig. 1

BM-MSCs/ASCs suppressed bacterial growth in the presence of synovial fluid. a Experimental scheme. For details see the “Materials and methods.” M, medium. b Antibacterial activity of BM-MSCs/ASCs in the presence of synovial fluid. Uninfected synovial fluid was added to the control medium to simulate a synovial environment. S. aureus (3.3 × 10³ CFU) was then added, with or without BM-MSCs/ASCs, and the mixture was incubated for 1 h at 37 °C under 5% CO₂, and an aliquot was removed to test for bacterial CFU. In some samples, ampicillin (AMP; 12.5 μg/mL) was added just before bacterial inoculation. After the plated dishes were incubated for 16 h at 37 °C, colonies were counted. CFU results (mean ± SD) are from 6 technical replicates and expressed as percentages of the bacteria control