Aim: To explore the mechanism of differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) into neurons in different micro-environments in vitro.
Methods: BMSCs were isolated from bone marrow of SD rats and cultured and expanded in vitro. After being identified by immunofluorescence staining, the BMSCs labeled with PKH67 were co-cultured with foetal brain neural cells in the same plate well or in two-layer Petri dish. 8 days later, the BMSCs were detected by immunofluorescence staining.
Results: After being co-cultured with foetal brain neural cells at the same time, some BMSCs differentiated into neurons. (32.72+/-2.56)% of the BMSCs expressed neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in the co-cultured group, which was obviously much more than that in control group (P <0.05). Only (4.87+/-0.79)% of the BMSCs expressed NSE when the BMSCs co-cultured with foetal brain neural cells in two-layer Petri dish, which had no difference with the control group (P>0.05). The number of differentiated BMSCs was less than that of the co-cultured group (P <0.05).
Conclusion: In vitro, the local microenvironment formed by neural cells can promote BMSCs to differentiate into neurons, and close contact between BMSCs and neural cells is an important condition that induce BMSC to differentiate into neurons.