Figure 4

Immunohistochemistry of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in vitro and in vivo studies. (A) hMSCs were well stained by anti-human nucleus antibody (HN) in vitro (A"), and injured area of thoracic spinal cord after transplantation of human fibroblasts (hFbs) at PTD28 (B) and after transplantation of hMSCs at PTD28 (C) and PTD56 (D) was stained with HN. B' and D' images are magnified images of B and D white-lined boxes respectively. Double staining with HN (green color) and anti-GFAP antibody (red color) (B' and D'), and HN (green color) and anti-beta III tubulin antibody (red color) after hMSC transplantation at PTD28 (E) and PTD56 (F) indicated that transplanted hMSCs into injured spinal cord did not differentiated into neurons nor astrocytes 28 and 56 days after transplantation. (G) Total number of HN-positive cells per section was higher in hMSC group than in hFb group (asterisk) at PTD56. White scale bar in B = 500 μm, yellow scale bar in B' = 20 μm.