Fig. 3

The administration of MSCs ameliorated CLP-induced pathological changes in the lungs of septic rats, while UC-MSCs were more effective at reducing proinflammatory cytokine levels than AF-MSCs. The histological changes in the lung were identified using HE (a) and Masson’s trichrome (b) staining. Both types of MSCs ameliorated CLP-induced alveolar expansion, according to the mean linear intercept (c) and mean alveolar volume (d). Other histological changes included irregular changes in the bronchial tube (red arrow) and interstitial hyperplasia (black arrow) in the sepsis group, and these changes were partially ameliorated in the MSC groups. Lung oedema, cell death and upregulation of the inflammatory cytokines due to sepsis were ameliorated by treatment with MSCs from both sources, according to wet to dry weight ratio (e), TUNEL staining (f and g) and IL-1β (h), IL-10 (i) and TNF-α (j) levels. For a and f, scale bar = 20 μm; for b, scale bar = 100 μm. *p < 0.05; ns, no significant difference