FIG. 1.

Selection of chondrogenic cues. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were cultured in complete Minimal Essential Media (αMEM) with the indicated growth factors, antibodies, and supplements. (A) Cells were lysed and analyzed by western blotting for expression of Sox9 (48 h) and the cartilage matrix proteins, aggrecan (AGG) and type II collagen (Col-II) (21 days). β-Actin was used as loading control. (B) Cells were fixed after 14 days and stained with Alcian Blue. Representative photographs are shown in the upper panel, and quantification (n=2) is shown in the lower panel. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tea