Fig. 3

Cell proliferation and apoptosis in spheroids from oral mucosa- and skin-derived cells. a Immunofluorescence of Ki67 and Caspase7 in spheroids from oral mucosa- and skin-derived cells. A larger number of Ki67-positive cells were observed in the spheroids with additives than those in the spheroids without additives regardless of the origins. The results from immunofluorescence for Caspase 7 showed positive cells in oral mucosal spheroids without additives but only a smaller number of faintly positive cells were noted in the spheroids with additives. The spheroids from the skin showed faint staining only in the spheroids without additives but no positive cells in the spheroids with additives. b The expression of Ki67 and Caspase7 in spheroids from oral mucosa- and skin-derived cells was analyzed using qRT-PCR, and the levels in spheroids with or without additives were compared. Higher expression of Ki67 was observed in both oral mucosal spheroids and skin-derived spheroids with additives than that without additives. On the other hand, the expression of Caspase 7 was significantly higher in the spheroids without additives than that with additives. c The expression levels of Caspase7 in spheroids from oral mucosa- and skin-derived cells were compared. The expression of Caspase7 was significantly higher in the spheroids from oral mucosa-derived cells than in the spheroids from skin-derived cells regardless of the additives. Scale bars = 50 μm. DAPI, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM; n = 3. Scale bars = 50 μm *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001