Fig. 4

Self-renewal potential of HpSCs during serial sorting. a Proliferation of human HpSCs detected by BrdU labeling. X, Y, and Z axes indicate percentages of CDCP1-positive, CD90-positive, and BrdU-positive cells, respectively. b Characteristics of CDCP1⁺CD90⁺ fractions after serial sorting by flow cytometry. Primary cells from the first sorting, human FLCs; primary cells from the second, third, and fourth resortings, first, second, third sorting-derived human HpSCs. Numbers represent mean percentages of CDCP1⁺CD90⁺ cells ± SD (n = 4 independent experiments). c Clones derived from the first, second, third, and fourth sorted single HpSCs were positively stained with human ALB (red) and human CK7 (green). White-boxed image shows a high-magnification image. Scale bars: 500 μm. d Hepatic colony forming units in culture (H-CFU-C) efficiency analyzed in human HpSCs from the first, second, third, and fourth sorting. Results shown as mean percentages of colony counts ± SD (n = 3 independent experiments). ALB Albumin, BrdU 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine, CK cytokeratin