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.

Motor and cognitive recovery induced by bone marrow stem cells grafted to striatum and hippocampus of impaired aged rats: functional and therapeutic considerations.

Impairments in motor coordination and cognition in normal and pathological aging are often accompanied by structural changes, that is, loss of synapses and neurons. Also, it has been shown recently that bone marrow stem cells can give origin to cells of different tissues, including neural cells. Given the therapeutic implications of increasing health and functional possibilities in the aged brain, we have tested the effects of rat femur bone marrow stem cells (rBMSCs) grafting to the striatum hippocampus of aged rats with motor or cognitive deficits, respectively.

Characterization of proliferation and differentiation of EGF-responsive striatal and septal precursor cells.

The epigenetic manipulation of precursors may provide data to elucidate the potential interactions among these cells in different brain regions. However, the response to epigenetic signals is modulated by the environment in which the cells are manipulated. Therefore, data regarding the action of a particular factor must be considered in the light of a specific system.