Figure 3.

Effect of growth factors on differentiation of transplanted ESNPCs. A) The astrocyte marker GFAP was used to evaluate ESNPC differentiation into astrocytes. The average area of GFAP expression was not significantly different between experimental groups at 4 weeks. After 8 weeks, the average area of GFAP expression for ESNPCs embedded within fibrin scaffolds containing NT-3 and PDGF-AA without the HBDS (10EB + GF no DS, n = 8) was significantly greater from all other groups (Error bars represent SEM, * indicates p<0.05 vs all other groups at same time point). B) The oligodendrocyte marker O4 was analyzed to evaluate the differentiation of transplanted cells into oligodendrocytes. O4 was expressed at considerably lower levels compared to GFAP expression, and there were no significant difference between groups at either time point. C) Nestin expression was used to determine the ESNPCs that remain NPCs. The average area of nestin expression was not significantly different between all groups at 4 weeks. 8 weeks after transplantation the average area of nestin expression for ESNPCs embedded in fibrin scaffolds containing NT-3 and PDGF-AA with no HBDS (10EB + GF no DS, n = 8) was significantly greater than that for ESNPCs implanted directly into the lesion site and ESNPCs embedded in fibrin scaffolds alone (Error bars represent SEM, * indicates p < 0.05 vs. 10EB no Fibrin and 10EB + Fibrin at same time point). D) The mouse embryonic stem cells marker SSEA-1 was used to identify the transplanted cells that remained undifferentiated. The average area of SSEA-1 expression of transplanted cells after 2 weeks in ESNPCs transplanted in fibrin scaffolds with NT-3, PDGF-AA and the HBDS (10EB + DS + GF) was greater than all other groups (Error bars are SEM, * indicates p < 0.05 vs. all other groups).