Fig. 1

Experimental workflow of this study. The mice were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8/group): sham+saline, sham+MSCs, AAN + saline, and AAN + MSCs. The mice were intraperitoneally injected with saline (sham+saline, sham+MSCs) or AA-I (AAN + saline, AAN + MSCs) every other day at weeks 0, 1, 2, and 3. Starting on the day of the operation, the mice were treated with saline (sham+saline, AAN + saline) or MSCs (sham+MSCs, AAN + MSCs) weekly for a total of 4 weeks before sacrifice. i.p., intraperitoneal; qod, once every other day; wk., week