Fig. 5

Exos@SFMA efficiently alleviated the progression of CIA and modulated immune dysregulations. (a) Schematic illustration of establishing the CIA mouse model and OE-MSC-Exo or Exos@SFMA treatments. (b, c) Photographs of popliteal lymph nodes (b) and the hind paws (c) of mice treated with PBS, OE-MSC-Exos or Exos@SFMA on Day 42 after the first immunization. (d, e) Clinical score (d) and incidence (e) in CIA mice from each group monitored every 3 days after the first immunization. Values represent means ± S.D. (n = 6). (f) Serum levels of CII-specific autoantibodies from each group measured using ELISA. Values represent means ± S.D. (n = 4). (g) Hematoxylin and eosin staining of hind paw sections from each group on day 42 after the first immunization. Cartilage destruction (cd) and inflammatory cell infiltration (ici) are indicated by black arrows. Values represent means ± S.D. (n = 4). (h) Expression of collagen (blue) Masson’s trichrome staining assay. Values represent means ± S.D. (n = 5). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001