Xenogeneic Transplantation of Human Placenta-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Alleviates Renal Injury and Reduces Inflammation in a Mouse Model of Lupus Nephritis

Figure 2

Survival rate, degree of proteinuria, and kidney coefficients in mice after pMSC transplantation. Experimental groups were divided into (1) the control group, age-matched BALB/C mice (n = 10); (2) the vehicle group, untreated MRL/lpr mice (n = 10); (3) the LEF group, leflunomide-treated MRL/lpr mice (n = 10); and (4) the MSC group, pMSC-treated MRL/lpr mice (n = 10). Each mouse in the pMSC group was intravenously injected with 1 × 10⁶ pMSCs/300 μl of saline every 2 weeks from 16 to 20 weeks of age. The control mice were injected 300 μl of saline at the same time points. (a) Survival rate. (b) Urinary protein/urine creatinine. (c) Kidney coefficients. The data from (a) were analyzed by Kaplan–Meier survival curves and a log-rank test. The data in (b) were analyzed using two-way ANOVA. The data in (c) were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. ^#p < 0.05 and ^##p < 0.01 versus the control group; p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 versus the vehicle group.

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