Fig. 4

AD-MSC-conditioned medium administration reduces neuronal and Schwann cell apoptosis in DRGs and sciatic nerves of diabetic mice. a, b Representative confocal images of apoptotic cells labeled with the TUNEL staining in DRGs (a) and sciatic nerves (b), obtained from 26-week-old non-diabetic and diabetic mice treated with vehicle, conditioned medium derived from non-preconditioned AD-MSCs, or conditioned medium derived from DFX-preconditioned AD-MSCs. Nuclei were counterstained with DAPI. Arrows indicate TUNEL⁺ cells. c, d Quantification of TUNEL⁺ cells in c DRGs and d sciatic nerves. Data are presented as mean TUNEL⁺ cells ± S.E.M. (n = 6, one-way ANOVA with Tukey post-test, *p < 0.05)