Figure 1

MenSCs show high expression level of mesodermal antigens and multilineage capacities. (A) MenSCs display stem cell-like phenotypic markers. In order to determine the immunophenotype MenSCs and BM-MSCs were stained by conjugated antibodies against mesenchymal, hematopoietic and pluripotential stem cells markers, then analyzed by FACS. MenSCs (orange filled histogram) and BM-MSCs (green filled histogram) displayed positive expression for mesenchymal stromal cells while being negative for other markers, such as CD14, CD34, CD45. Besides, low expression for CD146 and high expression for HLA-ABC and CD49a were observed in MenSCs samples. In addition, FACS analysis showed that both cells do not express pluripotent surface markers, such as SSEA-3, SSEA-4, and TRA-1-60. Isotype-matched controls of MenSCs and BM-MSCs are shown with a blue and red filled histogram, respectively. B) Differentiation potential of BM-MSCs and MenSCs. Adipose differentiation was characterized according to the fold increased level of the peroxysome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ and by the formation of lipid droplets that are positive for Oil red O staining. For osteogenesis characterization, the fold increase level of osteocalcin (OC) and positive staining for alizarin red were evaluated. Chondrogenesis was tested by the expression of collagen IIA (col 2A) and aggrecan (Agg) and by positive staining for Safranin O. Values are expressed as mean ± SE of triplicates (*P ≤0.05). Data shown are representative of multiple replicates. BM-MSCs, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells; FACS, fluorescence-activated cell sorting; MenSCs, menstrual-drived stem cells; SE, standard error.