Fig. 1

oBMSC characterisation. a Flow cytometry analysis of three unique oBMSC donors (black circles), with ovine MNC (oMNC, red circles) and hBMSC (blue circles) as control populations. The upper graph shows the percentage of cells that were positive for the markers. The lower graph shows the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of the markers for each cell population. Flow cytometry histograms for each donor and each marker are shown in Supplementary Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. b Bright-field image of oBMSC during expansion. c Chondrogenic induction shown by Alcian blue staining of matrix GAG. d Osteogenic induction of oBMSC showing mineralised nodules stained with Alizarin Red S. e Adipogenic induction of three unique oBMSC donors and an hBMSC donor, showing that conventional induction media does not result in adipogenesis of oBMSC unless IBMX is removed. Lipid vacuoles are stained red with Oil Red O. Scale bar = 400 μm in b and c, 2 mm in d, and 100 μm in e