الفهرس 
The effect of treatment with mesenchymal stem cells on mice treated with collagen induced arthritis: possible role of interleukin 4
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Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating disease causing decreased quality of life. The disease affects primarily small joints of the hands and feet and is classified as a chronic autoimmune disorder. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been shown to exert immunosuppressive activity with the possibility for use in the treatment of RA. Similarly, interleukin (IL)-4 has been investigated as a possible RA treatment. Therefore, in the current study, we aimed to investigate the effect of combination therapy of bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) and IL-4 as a possible treatment of murine collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). We induced arthritis in Balb/c mice by intradermal injection of 100 æg of type II collagen (CII) at day 0 and 21 and mice were examined daily for the onset of clinical manifestations of arthritis. Mice were divided into four groups, first group received intravenous injection (i.v.) of MSCs only, second group received intraperitoneal injection (i.p.) of IL-4 only, and a third group received i.v. and i.p MSCs and IL-4 respectively. A fourth CIA control group received PBS after induction of arthritis. In addition, a fifth group of untreated mice served as healthy controls. After four weeks of treatment, we collected blood from each group and mice were sacrificed and synovial tissue was examined. RA was evident in CIA control group by histopathological examination of knee joints that showed erosions of articular cartilage, edema and influx of inflammation compared to healthy controls