Stemness Characteristics of Periodontal Ligament Stem Cells from Donors and Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Comparative Study

Figure 5

Chondrogenic differentiation potential of hPDLSCs collected from healthy donors and from MS patients. (a) Photomicrographs of hPDLSCs at P2 (A1) and P15 (B1) under standard conditions and hPDLSCs at P2 (A2) and P15 (B2) at the end of chondrogenic commitment. (c) MS-hPDLSCs at P2 (C1) and P15 (D1) under standard conditions and MS-hPDLSCs at P2 (C2) and P15 (D2) at the end of chondrogenic differentiation. Differentiation potential was evaluated by the nodule formation and the positivity to alcian blue staining. Mag: 10x. Bar: 10 μm. Chondrogenic differentiation capacity was confirmed by qRT-PCR for chondrogenic markers ACAN and COL2A1 in P2 and P15 of (b) hPDLSCs ((A3) and (B3), resp.) and (d) MS-hPDLSCs ((C3) and (D3), resp.). . Data are expressed as mean ± SEM.