[Differentiation of bone marrow-derived stem cells in injured rat brain tissue].

Objective: To investigate the differentiation of bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMDSCs) migrated from blood circulation and resided in the injured brain tissue.

Methods: Brain injury model was established by iridectomy in the right cerebral cortex of female SD rats. Twenty-four hours after brain injury, the female rats received the implantation of green fluorescence protein (GFP)-labeled BMDSCs from male SD rats and were sacrificed at 2, 4 and 8 weeks after the implantation. Fluorescent immunohistochemistry for CD11b and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) on the brain sections was used to detect the GFP-positive cells.

Results: One week after the transplantation of the GFP-labeled BMDSCs, 3.53% of the peripheral blood white cells were GFP-positive; at 4 weeks and 8 weeks, a significant number of GFP-positive cells were found at the injury sites, some of which expressed CD11b and others expressed GFAP.

Conclusion: GFP-labeled BMDSCs can migrate to the injured brain tissue and differentiate into cells that express microglia- and astrocytes-specific antigens.