Author contributions
H.C., J.H., and B.Y.H. conceived the project and supervised the experiments. L.J.H., Y.J.L.(Yajie Li), and Y.Y.L. conducted the injection operation and patient care. S.Z., J.W., B.J.G., Z.W.L., and S.Z.A.S. performed the animal safety experiments. T.T.G., W.J.L., and Y.T. participated in stem cell differentiation and expansion. B.H. and G.T.K. conducted the radiological images review. L.J.H., Z.Y.F., X.L.H., and L.W. assisted with the experimental protocol design. L.J.H., L.F.X., J.Q.F., S.Y., and B.Z. organized the data collection. Y.J.L.(Yujuan Li) and Y.J. conducted the PET/CT scan. Y.N.X., Y.H.(Ying Huang), and Y.H.(Yan Huo) completed the safety testing of stem cells. H.C. and J.W. wrote the paper. G.H.F., W.L., and Q.Z. provided useful suggestions and comments on the project. All authors have read and approved the article.