Fig. 3

Functional characteristics of MSCs from the different groups. a Clonogenic capacity of MSCs from the ‘Injured Untreated’ group as measured by the colony-forming unit fibroblast (CFU-F) assay was significantly higher than the other two groups. b Proliferation of MSCs from the ‘Uninjured’ and ‘Injured Untreated’ groups was significantly higher than MSCs from the ‘Injured Treated’ group (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). c No differences were observed in the metabolic activity of the MSCs between the different groups. d Representative images of proliferation of the three groups of MSCs is shown throughout the 10-day study period through fluorescent staining of the cytoplasm of viable cells; scale bars = 100 μm. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001. RFUs - relative fluorescent units , RQ - relative quotient