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Fig. 2 | Stem Cell Research & Therapy

Fig. 2

From: sTNFRII-Fc modification protects human UC-MSCs against apoptosis/autophagy induced by TNF-α and enhances their efficacy in alleviating inflammatory arthritis

Fig. 2

In vitro and vivo functionalities of sTNFRII-MSC. a Schematic representation of in vitro incubation of MSCs with conditioned medium (CM) from MSCs, EGFP-MSC or sTNFRII-MSC. b Immunofluorescence of MSCs incubated with CM from MSCs, EGFP-MSC or sTNFRII-MSC with/without TNF-α. Cells were then stained for VCAM-1 (red), ICAM-1 (green) and DAPI (blue) (n = 3). Scale bars: 10 µm. c Western blot analysis showing protein levels of VCAM-1, ICAM-1 in sTNFRII-MSC stimulated with/without TNF-α and/or IL-1β. d, e Densitometry quantification of western blot from (c). The intensity of each was normalized to β-actin intensity (n = 3). f Schematic representation of the coculture study. RA FLS (lower chamber) was cocultured with sTNFRII-MSC (upper chamber) using transwell coculture system and the supernatant was collected for RANKL and OPG detection. gi Experiments were performed as f. Levels of RANKL (g) and OPG (h) were detected using ELISA, and RANKL/OPG ratio (i) was analyzed (n = 4). j Schematic representation for validating the in vivo functionality of sTNFRII-MSC. kn Experiments were performed as j. Effect of sTNFRII-MSC intervention on the concentration of sTNFRII-Fc (k), TNF-α (l), IL-6 (m) and IL-1β in serum of NOD/SCID mice after LPS challenge (n = 4–5). Data are presented as the mean ± SD values. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01

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