Rat Mesenchymal Stem Cells Differentiate Into Neuron-like Cells In Vitro

Background and Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) was an obvious early candidate for therapeutic intervention with stem cells, as the symptoms of idiopathic PD (including tremor, bradykinesia and rigidity) result from the focal degeneration of dopaminergic neurones in the substantia nigra. This allows for a focal approach to replace a small number of spatially discrete neurones. Clinical trials originally suggested that intrastriatal transplantation of fetal dopaminergic neurones could exert a beneficial effect. Nonetheless, clinical trials using embryonic transplant material have been limited by the ethical and practical problems discussed earlier, and results of the more robust randomized trials were generally disappointing. Mesenchymal stem cells could play a significant role here, although prior commitment to dopaminergic differentiation and purification may be essential. This possibility has been supported by studies which have suggested some appropriate neuronal differentiation and amelioration of deficits following transplantation of adult bone marrow stromal cells into an animal model of Parkinson's disease.Clearly,some of this work that MSCs could be differentiated into neuron-like cells has been noticed greatly,further studies are necessary.The purpose of this research is to establish the separation, culture, purification and identification methods of rat mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs),and investigate the characteristics of MSCs differentiating into neuron-like cells under varying differentiation-induction conditions in vitro in order to optimize treatment. Methods: MSCs were separated from rat femur marrow, then cultured and expanded in vitro.The self-renew capacity was demonstrated by BrdU labelling. Cell membrane...