Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) phenotype from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and non-COPD patients. Bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) from COPD and non-COPD patients cultured in vitro were characterised by fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis and by their potential to differentiate into mesenchymal lineages. a) Morphology of MSCs from COPD and non-COPD donors: example of MSC culture. Scale bar s=100 μm. b) FACS data. Per antibody, data are shown as mean±sem. n=9 per group. c) Differentiation into adipocytes and osteoblasts, and mineralisation potential. Staining intensity of Oil red O, alkaline phosphatase and Alizarin red (calcium) was quantified on a microplate reader, and per donor optical density (OD) values were calculated as fold change compared with control (co-cultured undifferentiated MSCs). Plots represent median, interquartile range, and minimum and maximum values. *: p<0.05, n=9 per group (except osteoblast/mineralisation: n=6–8 per group).