Fig. 1

Overview of the experimental design. For each AT sample (n = 7), bovine MSCs were isolated from HF or BB fetuses, calves, or adult cows using 6 h Liberase™ 0.1% enzymatic digestion. Subsequently, bovine MSCs were further characterized, i.e. proliferation potential (to a population doubling time (PDT) ≥ 3 days or a maximum of 40 population doublings (PD), whichever was reached first), senescence (assessed at P3, P6, P9, P12 and P15, if reached), tri-lineage differentiation ability (assessed at P4 to evaluate adipo-, osteo-, and chondrogenic differentiation potential) and immunophenotype (assessed at P4 by flow cytometry). Figure created with BioRender. HF: Holstein Friesian; BB: Belgian Blue; Lib™: Liberase™; MSCs: mesenchymal stromal cells