Fig. 5
Exo enhanced the survival and decreased the apoptosis of MSCs under hypoxia and serum deprivation (H/SD) conditions. a–d Flow cytometry assay and Hoechst 33342 nucleic acid stain for apoptosis of MSCs after treated with PBS, Exo, or Exo (Ultra) and exposed to H/SD. a Scatter diagram of apoptosis in MSCs treated with Exo and negative control. b Histogram of apoptosis events in different groups (n = 3). c Representative images of Hoechst 33342 nucleic acid stain. Scale bar = 100 μm. d Quantification of apoptosis cells in each group (n = 3). e Western blot for Bcl-2 protein in MSCs treated with Exo or Exo (Ultra) and exposed to H/SD condition. f Quantification of Bcl-2 in E (n = 3). g TUNEL staining at the border zone on 5 weeks post AMI with TUNEL (green) and nuclei (blue). h Quantification of TUNEL+ cells in G (n = 5). Apoptosis rate was quantified as the percentage of cells that were positive for TUNEL staining. All data are mean ± SEM. Statistical analysis was performed with one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test or two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post hoc test. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001 vs. H/SD or AMI group; ###p < 0.001 vs. Exo group; $p < 0.05, $$p < 0.01 vs. H/SD + Exo or MSC group; &p < 0.05 vs. Exo + MSCd1 group. Scale bar = 50 μm