ABSTRACT
Objective: Cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] has a broad range of molecules and neurotrophic factors essential for neurogenesis. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells [BMSCs] are multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into the cells with neural-like phenotype under the induction of appropriate growth factors. According to the significant role of retinoic acid [RA] in neurogenesis, this study aims to differentiate BMSCs into neuronlike cells using CSF, RA, and the combination of CSF and RA
Methods: Rat BMSCs were isolated and characterized. The CSF was prepared from the cisterna magna of 19-day-old Wistar rat embryos. The BMSCs were induced by either 5% CSF [CSF group], 10-6 microM RA [RA group], or CSF plus RA [CSR group] for 12 days. Morphology of differentiated cells was examined by inverted microscope and axonal outgrowth measured using Image J software. In addition, the expression of neural-specific markers [Nestin and MAP-2] was examined by immunocytochemistry
Results: We observed specific-neuronal morphology in the differentiated cells. The maximum axon length was seen in the CSR group on the 12th day of induction. Immunocytochemistry results showed that the neural progenitor marker [Nestin] was expressed in all treated groups. However, MAP-2, as a mature neural marker, was only expressed in the CSR group
Conclusion: The findings suggest that CSF accompanied RA lead to differentiation of cells with neuronal and glial phenotypes from BMSCs in vitro