XTT assays of BM-MSCs and PB-MSCs to measure the proliferation rate. Both MSCs were seeded at 125, 250, 500 and 1,000 cells/well and allowed to grow for 7 days then the optical density was measured. The proliferation rate of BM-MSCs was higher than that of PB-MSCs and it was directly proportional to the number of inoculated cells. *P<0.05 vs. PB-MSCs. BM-MSCs, bone marrow-mesenchymal stromal cells; PB, peripheral blood; OD, optical density.