Fig. 3

MSCs donate mitochondria to NSCs damaged by cisplatin. Representative confocal images of Neuronal stem cells (NSCs) treated with 1 μM cisplatin or vehicle for 8 h, stained with cell tracker blue (CTB) and subsequently co-cultured for 17 h with mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) transfected with mito-GFP (a and b) to label the MSC-derived mitochondria. Prior to confocal imaging, co-cultures were stained with wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) AF 594 (a and b) to reveal cell membranes. GFP-positive mitochondria were detected in NSCs treated with cisplatin (b, right panel), indicating mitochondrial transfer. The extent of mitochondrial transfer was quantified by counting the number of NSCs positive for the GFP signal in the co-cultures (c). Data are represented as the mean ± SEM of 3 independent experiments and were analyzed using One-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s post hoc-test. **** P < 0.0001