FIG. 6.

HA–hydrogel preserves the differentiation potential of encapsulated MSCs. Osteogenic (A), adipogenic (B), and smooth muscle cell (C) differentiation was induced for 21 days in MSCs cultivated within (HA:gelin [40:60], extralinker ratio 1:8) hydrogel. von Kossa staining was used to detect mineral in osteogenic differentiation (A). Lipid drops were detected in adipogenic differentiation by 0.3% Oil Red staining (B). Expression SM marker smooth-muscle myosin heavy chain (SM-MHC) analyzed using a confocal microscope Zeiss Axio Observer Z.1 (C). Encapsulated MSCs cultivated in a basal medium were used as negative control. Images A and B were taken using light microscopy at×10 magnification. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tec