Figure 6.

Immunohistochemistry of the joint cartilage of mice in the (a) control group, (b) monosodium iodoacetate only group, and (c) monosodium iodoacetate + human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell group. At 35 days after the experiment, the mice were killed under anesthesia and the knees were removed for staining for collagen type II and aggrecan in the cartilage. The cartilage in the knees of mice with monosodium iodoacetate and transplanted human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells and the control group had a strong affinity for type II collagen and aggrecan antibody. The injured tissue in mice after monosodium iodoacetate treatment without human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell transplantation was less stained than in the human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell transplanted group. The amounts of type II collagen (d) and aggrecan (e) in the human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell transplanted group were significantly higher than in the monosodium iodoacetate-treated group (***P < 0.001). Scale bar = 100 μm