HIF-1α modulates β-catenin pathway to enhance the survival and angiogenesis of PBMSCs under hypoxia environment

Figure 1 Characterization of peripheral blood mesenchymal stem cells. A: Representative images of primary cultured rat peripheral blood mesenchymal stem cells (PBMSCs) from both healthy rats at day 14 and injured rats at day 14 and day 21, along with PBMSCs at the fourth passage; B: Flow cytometry analysis revealed positive expression of mesenchymal stem cell markers (CD105, CD90, CD71, CD73, and CD44), and negative expression of hematopoietic stem cell markers (CD34 and CD45), along with endothelial progenitor cell markers (CD31 and CD133); C: Multilineage differentiation potential of PBMSCs. Adipogenic differentiation was verified via Oil Red O (red) staining. Chondrogenic differentiation was demonstrated by Alcian Blue (blue) staining. Osteogenic differentiation was illustrated via Alizarin Red (red) staining. Staining following standard culture with a dye-free solution was also presented. Scale bars = 50 μm. P4: Fourth passage.