Fig. 3

a Effects of sucralose on human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) at 18 days observed by gene expression analysis. Genes associated with increased intracellular fat, such as CEBPA, FABP4, and adiponectin, upregulated in a dose-dependent manner. Clearly high expression levels were noted at 1.0 mM, but there was clear upregulation of adipogenic genes in the presence of 0.2 mM (a physiological dose). Statistical analysis was performed by considering 0 mM as control (n = 2). The mRNA expressions were compared to relative values to adipogenic media without sucralose (0 mM). b Effect of sucralose on adipogenic differentiation. MSCs were exposed to adipogenic media for 18 days followed by Oil Red O staining. Increasing number of oil droplet with higher concentrations of sucralose indicates the increased presence of intracellular fat. Cells at 1.0 mM sucralose are sparse, but viable cells were packed with lipid droplets