Fig. 6

Efficacy of SG-BPCs on tissue regeneration in a mouse radiation model. A Schematic depiction of mouse experiment. B Relative saliva flow rate after 3 and 8 weeks of SG-BPCs injection. Two-way ANOVA (alpha = 0.05) is conducted on data presented in (B) followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons. The data are representative of three independent experiments performed in triplicate and are expressed as mean ± SEM. * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0.001. C, E, and G Representative histological images of HE, PAS, and MTC staining at Week 8 after SG-BPCs injection, respectively. Scale bar: 50 μm. D, F and H Quantification of SG damage score, ratio of mucin area, and fibrosis area, respectively. Two-way ANOVA (alpha = 0.05) is conducted on data presented in (D), (F), and (H) followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons. The data are representative of three independent experiments performed in triplicate and are expressed as mean ± SEM. * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01. I Immunofluorescence microscopy of AQP5 and KRT5 at 8 weeks after SG-BPCs injection. Scale bar: 50 μm. J Quantification of AQP5⁺ cells. One-way ANOVA (alpha = 0.05) is conducted on data presented in (I) followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons. The data are representative of three independent experiments performed in triplicate and are expressed as mean ± SEM. * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01. K Gene expression analysis of markers associated with acinar cells, cellular senescence, and apoptosis (AQP5, CDKN1A, FAS, and BAX). An unpaired two-tailed t-test is used to calculate significance. The data are representative of three independent experiments performed in triplicate and are expressed as mean ± SEM. * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0.001