Fig. 2: Leptin acted as a protective response for hMSCs against apoptosis in vitro.

a Annexin V/PI staining was analyzed by FACS for cell apoptosis and necrosis. b Quantification of early (Q3) and late (Q2) apoptosis events were simultaneously measured. c, d Representative views of TUNEL staining with nuclei identified by DAPI staining (Scale bar, 50 μm) and apoptotic cells were quantified for TUNEL-positive nuclei over the total nuclei counted. The images were obtained from 8 to 10 randomly selected fields in each sample or per well. e Cleaved caspase 3 (cle-caspase 3) protein expression level of whole-cell protein lysates (WCL) was measured by western blot, and β-actin served as a loading control. f Protein expression levels were quantified by densitometry analysis. Each in vitro experiment was repeated three times. Data were shown as mean ± SEM. *denotes P < 0.05, **P < 0.01