The expression of MBP and MPZ in cultured SCs.

(A-H, a-d) The expression of MBP and MPZ in in vitro cultured SCs detected by immunofluorescence. In primary cultures (P0), most SCs were MBP or MPZ positive (a-d arrow) with strong refraction rates and translucent cell bodies; a small part of the SCs (a-d arrowhead) and all of the fibroblasts (a, b asterisk) were MBP- or MPZ-negative with poor refraction rates and halos around the cells. In the third passage (P3),all SCs expressed MBP and MPZ (E-H). The bright-field (A, C, E, G, a, c) and the immunofluorescence channels (B, D, F, H, b, d) are displayed. (I) The positive expression rates of MBP and MPZ in P0 SCs and P3 SCs. (J) The protein levels of MBP and MPZ in P0 SCs and P3 SCs were detected by Western blotting. The protein levels of both markers were higher in P3 SCs than those in P0 SCs. (K) The mRNA levels of MBP and MPZ were determined by real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis. The mRNA level of MPZ was higher in P0 SCs than that in P3 SCs, while no significant difference of MBP’s mRNA level was detected. (A-H) bar = 100μm, (a-d) bar = 50μm. * P<0.05.