Prolonged survival and expression of neural markers by bone marrow-derived stem cells transplanted into brain lesions.

Background: Bone marrow-derived stem cell transplantation is a potentially viable therapeutic option for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease.

Material/methods: We have isolated bone marrow stem cells by standard method. We then evaluated the survival of rats' bone marrow mononuclear cells implanted in rats' brain.

Bone marrow stromal cells produce nerve growth factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factors.

Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) have attracted interest through their possible use for cell therapy in neurological diseases. Recent reports demonstrated that these cells are able to migrate and have potential for neuronal differentiation after transplantation into brain parenchyma. The objective of this work was determine whether rat BMSC express NGF and GDNF, in order to study its potential application for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.