Fig. 1.

Effects of methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD) and cholesterol (chol)-MβCD treatments on membrane cholesterol level and cell viability of MSCs. a Cholesterol level of MSCs after treatment with MβCD for 40 min at the concentrations indicated. Membrane cholesterol levels were measured and compared (untreated cells = 100%). b Cholesterol level of MSCs after treatment with 10 mM MβCD or 100 μM chol-MβCD for the time indicated. c Time course of cholesterol level of MSCs after initial treatment with 10 mM MβCD for 60 min. After treatment, cells were washed with PBS and incubated in fresh PM containing CS-FBS for the time indicated. d Viability of cells, treated as described in Fig. 1b, evaluated by MTS assay. Results are presented as mean ± SD; n ≥ 3 independent experiments per cell line per time point. The results showed the effectiveness of MβCD and chol-MβCD in altering MSC membrane cholesterol level without compromising cell viability. *p < 0.05, ^#p < 0.0001, versus untreated group. o/n overnight