ABSTRACT
AIM: To study the protective effect of bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) on ischemia /reperfusion hippocampal slices. METHODS: Ischemia/reperfusion models of hippocampal slices from newborn rats were established. MSCs obtained from adult bone marrow were cultured, isolated and purified. Cell death was assessed using propidium iodide fluorescence. And brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in MSCs was determined by immunocytochemistry and Western blot. RESULTS: Maximal dead cells appeared in hippocampal slices 3 to 7 days after reperfusion. When the slices were co-cultured with MSCs, only a few cells were dead. The protective effect of MSCs on the slices was diminished significantly when anti-BDNF antibody was added to the medium. The protein of BDNF was faintly expressed in MSCs under normal conditions. When MSCs were co-cultured with ischemia /reperfusion hippocampal slices, the expression of BDNF in MSCs was increased gradually especially when co-cultured for 3 to 7 days. However, MSCs co-cultured with normal hippocampal slices expressed BDNF at a lower level at any times of co-culture. CONCLUSIONS: In an in vitro model of simulated ischemia, MSCs reduce cell death. Ischemia/reperfusion hippocampal slices co-cultured with MSCs promote the expression of BDNF in MSCs, which in turn protect the ischemic neurons.