Fig. 1

hUC-MSC transplantation reduces autoimmunity and inflammatory responses in MRL/lpr mice by week 22. A Experimental timeline schematic. B hUC-MSC transplantation reduces anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibody levels (a) and antinuclear antibody (ANA) levels (b). C hUC-MSC transplantation ameliorates splenomegaly; representative spleen images from Ctrl, MSC, and MSC-FMT groups (a) and spleen weight/body weight percentage (b). D Peripheral blood flow cytometry gating strategy. E hUC-MSC transplantation reduces peripheral blood B cells. Frequencies of total B cells (a), plasma cells (b), total immunoglobulin (Ig)G⁺ memory B cells (MBs) (c), IgG⁺ CD80⁻ PD-L2⁻ double-negative memory B cells (DN MBs) (d), IgG⁺ CD80⁻ PD-L2⁺ single-positive memory B cells (SP MBs) (e), and IgG⁺ CD80⁺ PD-L2⁺ double-positive memory B cells (DP MBs) (f). F hUC-MSC transplantation reduces inflammatory cytokines. Plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) (a), interleukin (IL)-13 (b), IL-1β (c), IL-6 (d), IL-2 (e), and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) (f) in Ctrl, MSC, and MSC-FMT groups of lupus mice at week 22. N = 7 per group. *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001