Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

The 44th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Neurology

Symposium 4-3: Differentiation of adult bone marrow cells into neurons and endothelial cells in rat brain after stroke in the presence of cytokines

Shunya Takizawa, M.D.

Department of Neurology, Tokai University School of Medicine

Multipotent adult progenitor cells, which can differentiate into mesenchymal cells as well as cells with visceral mesoderm, neuroectoderm and endoderm characteristics, have been identified in the bone marrow. We examined whether bone marrow-derived cells can differentiate into the major cell types in the brain, including neuron, astrocyte, microglia and endothelium, in response to cerebral focal ischemia under treatment with cytokines. Bone marrow cells, which were sampled from green fluorescent protein (GFP) -expressing transgenic mice, were transplanted into irradiated female C57 Black/6 mice. Two months later, the recipient mice received permanent occlusion of the middle cerebral artery, then were treated with cytokines. One month after the occlusion, GFP-expressing cells, considered to be bone marrow-derived, were identified as neurons, endothelial cells, microglias and macrophages by means of NeuN, CD31, major histocompatibility complex class I antigen, and CD45 labeling, respectively, observed with confocal microscopy. These results indicate that the bone marrow-derived cells are, at least in part, a source of neurons as well as endothelial cells generated in response to cerebral infarction, in the presence of cytokines. This finding may suggest a new therapeutic strategy to enhance neuronal and vascular regeneration after stroke in the clinical field.

(CLINICA NEUROL, 43: 830|831, 2003)
key words: cerebral infarction, cytokine, bone marrow, neurogenesis, angiogenesis

(Received: 16-May-03)