ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on the apoptosis of granulosa cells (GCs) in rats. RESULTS: Cisplatin increased GC apoptosis from 0.59% to 13.04% in the control and cisplatin treatment groups, respectively, which was significantly reduced upon co-culture with BMSCs to 4.84%. Cisplatin treatment increased p21 and bax and decreased c-myc mRNA expression, which was reversed upon co-culture with BMSCs. As compared to young rats, increased apoptosis was observed in the perimenopausal rats (P < 0.001). After 3 months, the apoptosis rate in the BMSC group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: BMSC therapy may protect against GC apoptosis induced by cisplatin and perimenopause. Further studies are necessary to evaluate therapeutic efficacy of BMSCs.
