Figure 4

Inhibiting TNFα and iNOS production by human marrow stromal cell treatment in SOD1 transgenic mice. Lumbar spinal cord tissues from wild-type mice, PBS-treated and human marrow stromal cell (hMSC)-treated transgenic mice at the age of 11 weeks are assayed for inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) protein expression by Immunoblot and TNFα level by ELISA. (A) Representative immunoblots for iNOS and β-actin of the lumbar spinal cord from PBS-treated transgenic mice (1), wild-type mice (2) and hMSC-treated transgenic mice (3). (B) Quantitative evaluation through optical densitometry of iNOS blot and relation to β-actin blot. The levels of iNOS in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) transgenic mice receiving hMSC transplantation were significantly reduced compared with those in vehicle-treated mice (*P <0.01 versus PBS alone). (C) Intrathecally injected hMSCs significantly decreased the spinal cord TNFα level in SOD1 transgenic mice (*P <0.01 versus PBS alone).