Fig. 1

Hepatic differentiation of MSCs on cover glasses precoated with type I collagen. The MSCs were cultured on cover glasses pre-coated with type I collagen, and differentiated into hepatocytes. Cell morphology of a undifferentiated MSCs, b hepatic differentiation at day 14 and c hepatic differentiation at day 21. Albumin staining of d undifferentiated MSCs and e differentiated cells. f The mRNA expression of MSC-derived hepatocytes. The mRNA expression of liver-specific genes was investigated on days 14 (HD14) and 21 (HD21) of hepatic differentiation as well as in undifferentiated MSCs. g PAS staining of the undifferentiated MSCs, and at days 14 and 21 of hepatic differentiation. Quantification of h glycogen storage and i urea production during hepatic differentiation from the MSCs. Groups with different alphabetical letters are significantly different, whereas groups with the same alphabetical letters are not; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. G6P Glucose 6 phosphatase, HNF4 Hepatic nuclear factor 4, MSC Mesenchymal stromal cell, TAT Tyrosine aminotransferase