C17.2 cells behavior characterized by MAP2 staining.

<p>(A) The morphology of cells shown as overlaid phase contrast and MAP2 staining images. Green: MAP2. Blue: cell nuclei. Scale bar = 50 µm. The insets of MAP2 and cell nuclei staining were from the boxed region and were at the same scale as the main images. (B) MAP2 and β-tubulin-III (gray shades) positive cell counts per mm² over three weeks. Both staining showed similar trend of cell differentiation versus test conditions. (C) The neuronal cell count per mm² over time determined by cell morphology plus MAP2 or β-tubulin-III (gray shades) staining. (D) The average neurite length per mm² over time with positive MAP-2 or β-tubulin-III (gray shades) staining. The controls (with “cM” for MAP2 control and “cβ” for β-tubulin-III control) were C17.2 NSCs seeded at the same surface density in FluoroDishes but without microchannels and fed every 48 hours as in standard subculture protocols. Bars with “O” in Figure 6C and Figure 6D indicated that no cell was identified as a neuronal cell. Data were shown as mean ± standard deviation. The * above the bars indicated a statistical difference between the sample and the control by two-tailed Student’s t test (<i>p</i><0.05). The */** below the bars indicated a statistical difference in the group by the one-way ANOVA test (<i>p</i><0.05). The ** in Figure 6D indicated a significant difference due exclusively to the samples with no neurite outgrowth. The groups labeled with NA below the brackets did not have enough number of neurites for ANOVA analysis. N≥15.