Human MSC Therapy in Lupus Mice

Female MRL.Fas^lpr mice were purchased from the Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, MA, USA). Mice were housed in specific pathogen-free conditions at 21–24°C and 40–60% relative humidity under a 12 h light/dark cycle. Female MRL.Fas^lpr mice were injected intravenously with PBS (vehicle, n = 6) or 4 × 10⁵ hMSCs/mouse (n = 6) once at the age of 12 weeks [14 (link)]. Survival rate and body weight were examined every week. Serum was collected every 3 weeks and stored at −70°C until use. The levels of anti-dsDNA IgG and total IgG in serum were measured by using ELISA kits purchased from Alpha Diagnostic International (San Antonio, TX, USA) and eBiosciences (San Diego, CA, USA), respectively, according to the manufacturers' instructions. All animal studies were approved by the Chungbuk National University Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee and were carried out in accordance with the approved guidelines.