The present study aims to evaluate the effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on cold stress induced neuronal changes in hippocampal CA1 region of Wistar rats. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from a 6-week-old Wistar rat. Bone marrow from adult femora and tibia was collected and mesenchymal stem cells were cultured in minimal essential medium containing 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum and were sub-cultured. Passage 3 cells were analyzed by flow cytometry for positive expression of CD44 and CD90 and negative expression of CD45. Once CD44 and CD90 positive expression was achieved, the cells were cultured again to 90% confluence for later experiments. Twenty-four rats aged 8 weeks old were randomly and evenly divided into normal control, cold water swim stress(cold stress), cold stress + PBS(intravenous infusion), and cold stress + bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(1 × 106; intravenous infusion) groups. The total period of study was 60 days which included 1 month stress period followed by 1 month treatment. Behavioral functional test was performed during the entire study period. After treatment, rats were sacrificed for histological studies. Treatment with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells significantly increased the number of neuronal cells in hippocampal CA1 region. Adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells injected by intravenous administration show potential therapeutic effects in cognitive decline associated with stress-related lesions.
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