Fig. 5

MSCs promoted M2 macrophage polarization in DCM hearts and relieved chronic inflammation in DCM rats. Heart tissues from the different groups were digested and stained with the cell surface markers CD68 (total macrophages), CD11c (M1), and CD163 (M2) and were analyzed by flow cytometry at 20 weeks. Ratios of total macrophages (a), M1 (b) and M2 (c) in total cells were analyzed. The percentage of M1 macrophages and M2 macrophages among CD68-positive total macrophages of normal (d, g), DCM (e, h) and DCM + MSCs (f, i) groups was presented and analyzed. IL-6, TNF-α and IL-10 concentrations in the heart homogenates (j, k, l) and blood serum (m, n, o) were detected by ELISA. n = 3–5 per group, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 vs. normal group, #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01 vs. DCM group