Fig. 1.

Proliferation of the umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UCSCs) and infant bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs)

(A) The fold increases in cell numbers and (B) doubling time periods of UCSCs and infant BMSCs were calculated and compared from passages 2 (P2) to 9 (P9). The data are presented as mean ± SEM, and multiple experimental replicates were conducted. Statistical significance for the comparisons between UCSCs and infant BMSCs at each passage was determined using the Mann-Whitney U test. The star symbol (∗) will indicate significant differences between the compared groups. The symbol "∗" denotes p < 0.05, and the symbol "∗∗" denotes p < 0.01. (C) Cell morphology of UCSCs and infant BMSCs at passages 3 (representing early passages) and 8 (representing late passages) was observed using a phase-contrast microscope (Nikon Eclipse TS100) with a magnification of × 40. The scale bar represents 100 μm.