Fig. 1
Isolation and characterization of lacrimal gland stem cells (LGSGs). a The strategy of LGSG primary and continuous passage culture. b, c The morphology of LGSCs in primary culture at day 7; scale bar, b 200 μm, c 100 μm. d Hematoxylin and eosin staining of LGSCs at day 7; scale bar, 50 μm. e–g Immunofluorescent staining of LGSCs at day 7. e LGSCs express epithelial cell marker E-cadherin (red), scale bar, 50 μm; f LGSCs express stem cell marker Krt14 (red), scale bar, 50 μm; g LGSCs express proliferative cell marker Ki67 (red), scale bar, 50 μm. Counterstain, DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, blue). h, i The morphology of LGSCs in continuous passage culture. h LGSGs cultured for 1, 3, 5, and 7 days, scale bar, 100 μm; i LGSCs cultured in different passages (P1, P10, P20, and P40), scale bar, 100 μm. j The cell numbers of LGSCs cultured for 7 days in different passages (P1, P10, P20, and P40). The cells were seeded at 1 × 104 cells per well (24-well plate). The experiments were performed three times and the average cell number is shown in the graph. k Transcriptional expression of adult stem/progenitor cell markers of the mouse LG and different passage LGSCs (P1, P10, P20, and P40). LG, lacrimal gland; NC, negative control