Figure 5. Imaging of clodronate enhanced donor hematopoietic cell engraftment in BM, including cells proximal to stem cell niches.

(A) BM image of normal (strain) control mice without BM transplantation (BMT) and clodronate treatment. (B) BM image of C57BL/6 mice that received BMT from BALB/c mice, but without clodronate treatment. (C–E) BM images of C57BL/6 mice pretreated with clodronate followed by BMT from BALB/c donor mice. Images were acquired by confocal microscopy at the time of sacrifice (day 225 after BMT). Nuclei (blue, DAPI), BALB/c MHC-class I molecule H-2K^d (green, FITC), CD169⁺ macrophages (red, Texas-Red) or Nestin⁺ mesenchymal stromal cells (red, Texas-Red). Scale bars are in micrometers. The images shown are representatives from the same two independent experiments detailed in Fig. 2 (total n = 3 ~ 5 mice per group).