Figure 1. hMSCs in co-culture with NRVMs express cardiac markers and activate human cardiac genes.

A,B) Representative confocal images of immunostaining for sarcomeric α-actinin (SAA) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) from 7-day old hMSC-eGFP/NRVM co-cultures showing eGFP⁺/α-actinin⁺ (A) and eGFP⁺/cTnT⁺ (B) cells. (C) RT-PCR using rat- and human-specific primers shows activation of human cardiac genes (hTNNT2, hACTN2, hRYR2) in hMSC-eGFP/NRVM co-culture. Scale bar 50 μm.