Figure 1.

Trilineage differentiation capacity of human MSCs and representative types of sarcomas. Human MSCs are capable of differentiating into osteoblasts, chondrocytes and adipocytes under proper inductions. This differentiation spectrum corresponds with the histological spectrum of different types of sarcomas, represented here by osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma and liposarcoma. This correlation supports the hypothesis that MSCs are the cell of origin of sarcomas. A: alizarin red staining for osteoblast differentiation assay, B: toluidine blue staining for chondrocyte differentiation assay of MSC pellets, C: oil red staining for adipocyte differentiation. D: human MSC cell culture. E: osteosarcoma, F: chondrosarcoma, G: liposarcoma.