Figure 1

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) ameliorate rhabdomyolysis (RM)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). (a-c) Compared with animals treated with saline, infused MSCs significantly reduced serum creatinine (SCr (a)), blood urea nitrogen (BUN (b)) and serum phosphocreatine kinase (CK(c)) levels 24, 48 and 72 hours after RM, and there were no significant changes following treatment of sham mice. *P <0.05 versus sham, ^#P <0.05 versus rhabdomyolysis treated with saline at the corresponding times (n = 10). (d) MSC therapy markedly reduced acute tubular necrosis (ATN) scores 72 hours after rhabdomyolysis. (e-h) Treatment with the sham-operated control (Sham + NS and Sham + MSCs) had no effect on renal histopathological parameters (e and f), while MSC therapy markedly improved tubular injury (h), and mice treated with saline showed severe tubular injury (g) (HPFs, ×400, n = 10). HPFs, high-power fields; NS, normal saline.