Fig. 5

Mitochondria transfer from BMSCs to steatotic cells. A The detection of GFP signaling in liver after BMSCs-mito-GFP for one week using an in vivo imaging system. All statistical data are represented as means ± s.***P < 0.001. B The detection of mito-GFP signaling from BMSCs in liver. Blue, nucleus; Green, mito-GFP. Scale bar = 10 μm. C Representative micrographs of isolated mHCs from T2DM mice and BMSCs-mito-GFP after co-cultivation for 12 h. Green, BMSCs-mito-GFP; Red, MitoTracker Red. Scale bar = 20 μm. D Representative micrographs of labeled BMSCs and HepG2-mito-GFP after co-cultivation for 12 h. Green, HepG2-mito-GFP; Red, MitoTracker Red. Scale bar = 20 μm. E Flow cytometry detects the double-stained cells. Labeled mHCs isolated form HFD mice were co-cultured with BMSCs-mito-GFP with different cell proportions (11:1/1:3/1:5/1:9/1:11) for 48 h, after which these cells were screened using 2.5 μg/mL puromycin. Q2 represents the double-stained cells. F Schematic diagram of experimental design to verify mitochondrial transfer. HepG2 cells were planted at the bottom of a transwell dish with FFA medium for 36 h. Then, the FFA medium was replaced with complete medium, after which BMSCs were inoculated at the upper chamber with 0.4 μm or 0.22 μm filter membrane for 24 h or 48 h. G The mtDNA detection via gel electrophoresis at 24 h and 48 h