Fig. 3: The enhanced MSC secretome was attributed to increased cell-cell interactions mediated by N-cadherin.

a Schematic illustrating how N-cadherin mediated cell-cell interactions contribute to the enhancement of the MSC secretome. b Heatmap measuring the secretome profiles of different groups after functional blocking of N-cadherin of MSCs and incubating for 4 days. The data was processed by the Z-score normalization and clustering analysis. c–j ELISA assay measuring the secretion of FGF-2, IGF-1, VEGF, HGF-1, IL-6, IL-10, IFN-γ, and TNF-α from different groups after functional blocking of N-cadherin of MSCs and incubating for 4 days (n = 4 tests, biological repeats). k Representative FDA staining images of different groups after incubating for 0, 12, 24 h, and 3 days, respectively. n = 3 tests with similar results. Scale bar: 100 μm. l Western blotting detecting the expression of N-cadherin of MSCs from different groups. n = 3 tests. a: control, b: 3D Microplate, c: 10 min, d: 30 min, e: 60 min. m Flow cytometry analysis measuring the expression of N-cadherin of MSCs from different groups. The statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc test. Data are graphed as the mean ± SD. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.