Figure 5

Engraftment of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in renal tissue at 72 hours after ischemia–reperfusion. (A) to (E) Identification of double-stained adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) (Dil dye + CXCR4⁺ cells; red arrows) and single stain for CXCR4⁺ cells (white arrows) (400×) in peri-tubular and interstitial areas of kidney 72 hours post ischemia–reperfusion (IR) procedure among five groups (n = 8). (D), (E) Merged image from double-staining (Dil + CXCR4) showing cellular elements of mixed green and yellow under higher magnifications ((B) and (D) are magnified images of (A) and (C), respectively), indicating implanted CXCR4⁺ cells in lung parenchyma. DAPI counter-staining for nuclei (blue). Scale bars at right lower corner = 20 μm. (F) *P <0.0001 vs. other groups with different symbols; † vs. ‡ vs. ¶ vs. §, all P <0.05 for inter-group comparisons. (G) to (K) Identification of single stain for stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1α⁺ cells (red color; white arrows) (400×) in peri-tubular area and interstitial area of kidney 72 hours post IR procedure among five groups. DAPI counter-staining for nuclei (blue). Scale bars at right lower corner = 20 μm. (L) *P <0.0001 vs. other groups with different symbols; † vs. ‡ vs. ¶ vs. §, all P <0.05 for inter-group comparisons. All statistical analyses performed using one-way analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni multiple comparison post-hoc test. Different symbols (*, †, ‡, ¶, §) among different groups indicate significance at the 0.05 level. CsA, cyclosporine A.