Transplanted Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells Facilitate Lesion Repair in B6.Fas Mice

BACKGROUND Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem disease that is characterized by the appearance of serum autoantibodies. No effective treatment for SLE currently exists. METHODS We used human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (H-UC-MSC) transplantation to treat B6.Fas mice. RESULTS After four rounds of cell transplantation, we observed a statistically significant decrease in the levels of mouse anti-nuclear, anti-histone, and anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies in transplanted mice compared with controls. The percentage of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) T cells in mouse peripheral blood significantly increased after H-UC-MSC transplantation. CONCLUSIONS The results showed that H-UC-MSCs could repair lesions in B6.Fas mice such that all of the relevant disease indicators in B6.Fas mice were restored to the levels observed in normal C57BL/6 mice.