RAT BONE MARROW STROMAL CELLS
DIFFERENTIATE INTO NEURONS INDUCED BY BAICALIN
Jia YJ, Yang YJ, Song YZ
Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
Objective: Bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) exhibit multiple
traits of a stem cell population. In this manuscript, we explored the protocol that
induced MSCs to neuron in vitro by baicalin, a kind of flavonoid isolated
from an important medicinal plant Scutellariae
Radix.
Method: MSCs from adult rats were preinduced
with basic fibroblast growth factor for 24h, then induced by baicalin in
serum-free medium for 6h to 8h, and postinduced for 6d. The morphological
changes of MSCs were evaluated by light and electron microscope. The
positive percentages of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), 200-kilodalton
neurofilament (NF)
and glial
fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression, were measured by immunocytochemistry ABC staining.
The cell viability was measured by Hoechst 33258 staining by fluorescence
microscope.
Results: After induction for 6d, MSCs
displayed neuronal morphologies, such as pyramidal cell bodies and
processes formed extensive networks. The positive percentage of NSE, NF and GFAP protein expression
was 70.5%±11.6%, 68.3%±13.4% and <1%, respectively. And the
cell viability was 88.4%±5.0%.
Conclusion: Baicalin may induce adult
rat MSCs to neuron in vitro. It is a powerful approach to further cell
transplantation and gene therapy in central nervous system.