Fig. 1

Identification of MSCs and SP-MSCs. a The morphology and differentiation of MSCs (hUCMSCs and hPMSCs) and SP-MSCs (SP-hUCMSCs SP-hPMSCs). MSCs and SP-MSCs showed typical fibroblastic morphology. Both of them could differentiate into adipocytes (positive for Oil Red O) and osteoblasts (positive for Alizarin Red), while SP-MSCs had stronger adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation ability. The image was captured with 1920*1440 resolution by OLYMPUS microscope and cellSens Entry. b The percentage of SP cells (P1) in hUCMSCs and hPMSCs. hUCMSCs and hPMSCs stained with Hoechst 33342 were analyzed using 350-nm excitation with blue (670 m) and red (450 m) emission. Among them, SP cells exhibited weak blue and red fluorescence. c The purity of sorted SP-hUCMSCs and SP-hPMSCs cells. All SP cells showed the reduction of both blue and red fluorescence. d Cell surface markers of MSCs and SP-MSCs were analyzed by FCM. The red histograms represented the isotype control, while green histograms represented specific marker expression on the cell surface