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Fig. 6 | Stem Cell Research & Therapy

Fig. 6

From: Infrapatellar fat pad-derived mesenchymal stem cell-based spheroids enhance their therapeutic efficacy to reverse synovitis and fat pad fibrosis

Fig. 6

IFP-MSC spheroids effectively reverse synovitis and IFP fibrosis in vivo. Schematic indicating the generation of acute synovitis/IFP fibrosis rat model, therapeutic intervention, and chronological evaluation. a, b Hematoxylin/eosin staining (top 2 panels), Masson’s trichrome staining (middle two panels), and substance P immunolocalization (lower 2 panels) in sagitally sectioned knees of representative rats for healthy control, injected only with MIA or with both MIA and IFP-MSC spheroids. Compared with only MIA injected group, which showed a significant synovitis and IFP fibrosis with cellular infiltrates, a striking correlation was found between IFP-MSC spheroid treatment and the effect reducing inflammation and fibrosis after 3 and 25 days of a single intra-articular IFP-MSC injection (*p < 0.05). c After MIA injection, all animals developed OA changes that resulted in OA lesions on day 28. IFP-MSC spheroid injection group did not show any major OA lesion development whereas articular cartilage sGAG content was preserved which was evident by the strong toluidine blue staining (*p < 0.05)

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