Fig. 3.

Internalization of apoptotic bone marrow stromal cells by macrophages. Bone marrow macrophages were stained for F4/80-FITC and apoptotic bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) stained with Cell Tracker Deep Red, co-cultured for 1hr and analyzed via flow cytometry. Representative fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACs) dot plots (left) indicate macrophages alone (R1), apBMSCs alone (R2), or macrophages with internalized apoptotic BMSCs (R3). Representative photo from Image Stream which captures single cell images showing either single cells or engulfment (right). These images depict efferocytosis at two stages, recognition and internalization, and demonstrate that bone marrow macrophages in culture efficiently phagocytose apoptotic bone marrow stromal cells.