All experiments using mice and rats were conducted in accordance with a protocol approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of the Catholic University (Seoul, Korea). Nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID)/IL-2Rγ-/- (NOG/SCID) mice were purchased from the Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME, USA). Female Sprague-Dawley rats and C57BL/6 mice were purchased from Orient Bio (Seongnam, Korea). Animals were housed under pathogen-free conditions and were given autoclaved food and water.
To establish immunosuppression in the Sprague-Dawley rats and C57BL/6 mice, FK-506 (tacrolimus) and dexamethasone (Cayman Chemical, Ann Arbor, MI, USA) were dissolved in saline at a concentration of 1 mg/mL and sterilized with a 0.22-µm filter (Millipore Co., Billerica, MA, USA). Both immunosuppressants were intraperitoneally administered 1 mg/kg/day each for 3 days before cell injection.
To establish immunosuppression in the Sprague-Dawley rats and C57BL/6 mice, FK-506 (tacrolimus) and dexamethasone (Cayman Chemical, Ann Arbor, MI, USA) were dissolved in saline at a concentration of 1 mg/mL and sterilized with a 0.22-µm filter (Millipore Co., Billerica, MA, USA). Both immunosuppressants were intraperitoneally administered 1 mg/kg/day each for 3 days before cell injection.