Wnt signaling pathway inhibitor promotes mesenchymal stem cells differentiation into cardiac progenitor cells in vitro and improves cardiomyopathy in vivo

Figure 5 Analysis of fourteen days inhibitor Wnt production-4 treated mesenchymal stem cells. A: Morphology of untreated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), seven days inhibitor Wnt production-4 (IWP-4) treated MSCs and fourteen days IWP-4 treated MSCs; B: Immunocytochemical analysis of untreated MSCs, seven days and fourteen days IWP-4 treated MSCs showing positive expression of cardiac-specific proteins α-actinin, connexin-43, cTnI, Desmin, GATA-4, Nkx2.5, secondary control, and DAPI control. Alexa fluor 488 secondary antibody was used for detection, then counterstained with DAPI to stain the nuclei; C: Quantification of fluorescence intensities in untreated MSCs, seven days, and fourteen days IWP-4 treated MSCs. For statistical analysis, One-way ANOVA was used followed by the Bonferroni post-hoc test. Data are presented as mean ± SEM with significance level P < 0.05 (where ^aP < 0.05, ^cP < 0.001). IWP-4: Inhibitor Wnt production-4; MSC: Mesenchymal stem cell; NS: No significant.