ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effect of intracarotid administration of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) on learning and memory abilities of vascular dementia (VD) rats and the variability of expressions of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S-100 protein in the serum.Methods BMNCs collected from clean juvenile male Wistar rat femur were isolated; after adherent culture,the 3-4th generation BMSCs were performed induced differentiation.Ninety Wistar rats (age:18 to 24 months old) were randomly divided into three groups:control group,model group and treatment group,and each group was further classified into three subgroups by means of survival times of 2,4 and 8 weeks,which means that every subgroup consisted often rats.All VD rats,which were modeled by modified Pulsinellis 4-vessel occlusion (4VO); and those in the treatment group were injected 0.5 mL 1.2×107/mL BMSCs into the internal carotid artery 24 after operation.The learning and memory abilities of each rat in all subgroups were analyzed by shuttle box testing and the NSE leves and S-100 protein in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA).Results The mean active avoidance response (AAR) ratios of the rats in the three subgroups (survival time of 2,4,8 weeks) of the model group,were,respectively,lower than those of the control group (P＜0.05),and those of the treatment group were significantly higher than those of the model group (P＜0.05).The serum levels of NSE in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the model group two weeks after operation (P＜0.05),but it reversed 4 and 8 weeks after operation.The S-100 protein expressions in the treatment group was statistically lower than that in the model group (P＜0.05),however,there is no significant difference between treatment group and control group (P＞0.05).Conclusion Intracarotid administration of BMSCs obviously improves the learning and memory abilities of the VD rats,remarkably reduces the serum levels of NSE and S-100 protein,and efficiently relieves the injury degree of neurons and glial cells,which indicates that BMSCs therapy has effective protection on neural regeneration,neuronal proliferation and synaptic connectivity.