Fig. 4.

Immunocytochemical and qPCR analysis of PGS influenced expression levels. To evaluate the influence of the PGS microenvironment on cell differentiation, intensity of immunocytochemical labeling was compared between mRPCs cultured on either 1 × 1 mm PGS or glass for 7 days. a) Marker expression indicating undifferentiated mRPCs including Pax6, Hes1, nestin, and Sox2 was decreased in cells cultured on PGS. Elevated GFAP expression may indicate a higher percentage of mRPCs of glial fate on glass than on PGS. b,e) GFP⁺ mRPCs expressing c,f) nestin were analyzed in overlaid images d,g) for percent expression between glass (b–d) and PGS (e–g) samples. Cells cultured on PGS expressed lower levels of nestin. h) Results from quantitative PCR analysis showed that message expression correlated well with protein data, the exception being an increase in the level of nestin message in response to growth on PGS (b–g) (green = GFP, red = rhodamine labeled protein).