Figure 1. The therapeutic effects of pioglitazone-augmented Wharton's Jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (pioWJMSCs) on lung regeneration in mice with elastase-induced emphysema. C57BL/6 mice were intratracheally injected with 0.6 U of elastase (Ela) at day 0 and then intravenously injected with Wharton's Jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJMSCs) or pioWJMSCs on day 7. (A) Experiment scheme. (B) Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained lung tissue sections on day 14. (−) control: no elastase; Ela: 0.6 U of elastase; Ela+WJMSC: elastase+1×10⁴ WJMSC; Ela+pioWJMSC: elastase+1×10⁴ pioWJMSC. Scale bars=0.5 mm. (C) Morphometric analysis of the mean linear intercept (MLI). The values represent the mean±standard error of mean (n=6). Statistically significant differences are indicated. ^**p<0.01, ^***p<0.001, ^****p<0.0001.