Effect of graded number of MSCs on renal function and morphology after I/R injury.

(A) In RA group with PBS only, no further increasing Scr level was detected (5.01±0.87 mg/dl) compared with control group (5.22±0.43 mg/dl). (B) In CA group, the Scr level decreased with increased amounts of injected MSCs. However, in RA group, there was a U-type change and the lowest Scr level was obtained with 1×10⁵ MSCs (3.71±0.96 mg/dl), which was significantly lower than that in all groups, including CA group and RA group (P<0.05). (C–D) Histological examination (HE staining, magnification 200×) showed that the most significant morphological improvement was found in RA group (1×10⁵), which was consistent with functional studies. *P<0.05, vs CA group (1×10⁶).