Fig. 2

Gene expression profiling and validation of cell surface markers across multiple mesenchymal cell types. a Gene expression of traditional markers by adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (AMSCs) was analyzed using quantitative PCR (qPCR). AMSCs have relatively high expression levels of CD44, CD90, CD105, and CD73, and low or no expression of CD14 and CD45. To identify AMSC specific surface markers, high-throughput qPCR screening of 69 surface markers curated from the literature was performed on various mesenchymal cell types, including AMSCs (n = 4), bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BMSCs) (n = 2), primary bone cells (b) (n = 4), primary chondrocytes (C) (n = 4), and primary fibroblasts (F) (n = 4). b Hierarchical clustering analysis of qPCR data across multiple cell types shows that AMSCs have a unique phenotype at the gene expression level. c Comparison of different cell types revealed that classical surface markers, including CD44, CD73, and CD90, are expressed by not only AMSCs but also other cell types. Furthermore, nine non-classical markers were selected based on differential expression between the various mesenchymal cells. These markers, together with classical markers, were used to develop a novel antibody panel to characterize AMSCs