Submitted by: Claudia Benito Alston

Category: Microscopy

Contributors: Michael Deines, Madison Howard & Evelyn Nonamaker

Creation: I cultured bone Messenchymal Stem Cells (bMSCs) for 14 days, after which I fixed and stained them with an Alkaline Phosphatase labeling kit.

Caption: Staining cells with alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is commonly used to assess cell differentiation, particularly in studies involving osteogenic (bone-forming) cells. ALP is an early marker of osteoblast differentiation, meaning it is expressed when precursor cells begin to differentiate into bone-forming osteoblasts. By staining cells for ALP, we can visually confirm and quantify the activity of these cells as they progress along the osteogenic pathway.