Concanavalin A-Induced Liver Injury Mouse Model

Caudal intravenous injection of Con A has been used to induce experimental AIH to generate models [31 (link)–33 (link)]. Liver damage was induced by injecting Con A (Solarbio Science and Technology Co, Ltd, China) via the tail vein at a dose of 15 mg/kg [34 (link), 35 (link)] dissolved in 150 µL phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Thirty minutes after the administration of Con A, 30 mice were randomly assigned to the following five groups (n = 6): (i) healthy mice injected with 150 µL PBS (without Con A) via the tail vein; (ii) PBS-treated mice injected with 150 µL PBS via the tail vein; (iii) WT-MSC-treated mice intravenously injected with MSCs (1 × 10⁶ cells/mouse) suspended in 150 µL of PBS; (iv) NC-MSC-treated mice intravenously injected with MSCs (1 × 10⁶ cells/mouse) suspended in 150 µL PBS; and (v) sFgl2-MSC-treated mice intravenously injected with sFgl2-MSCs (1 × 10⁶ cells/mouse) in the same manner. All mice were euthanized 24 h after the administration of Con A. Animals were euthanized by carbon dioxide (CO₂) inhalation. CO₂ (100%) was delivered into an enclosed space at a replacement rate of 40% per minute until the mice lost their spontaneous respiration ability and died. Blood, livers, and spleens were collected and stored for further analysis.