Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are used to treat infectious and immune diseases and disorders; however, its mechanism(s) remain incompletely defined. Here we find that MSCs lacking Pinch1/2 proteins display dramatically reduced ability to suppress lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced inflammatory bowel disease in mice. Mice with Pinch loss in MSCs have severe defects in both immune and hematopoietic functions, resulting in premature death, which can be restored by intravenous injection of wild-type but not Pinch-deficient MSCs.