Neural Differentiation of Mouse Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Treated with Sex Steroid Hormones and Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor

OBJECTIVE: There are several factors, like environmental agents, neurotrophic factors, serotonin and some hormones such as estrogen, affecting neurogenesis and neural differentiation. Regarding to importance of proliferation and regeneration in central nervous system, and a progressive increase in neurodegenerative diseases, cell therapy is an attractive approach in neuroscience. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of sex steroid hormones and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on neuronal differentiation of mouse bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This experimental study was established in Kharazmi Univer- sity. BM was isolated from the bones of femur and tibia of 4-6-week old Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) mice, and the cells were cultured. The cells were divided into following 4 groups based on the applied treatments: I. control (no treatment), II. steroid hormones (β-estradiol, progesterone and testosterone), III. bFGF and IV. combination of steroid hormones and bFGF. Immunocytochemistry and flow cytometery analyses were applied for beta III-tubulin (β-III tubulin) and microtubule-associated proteins-2 (MAP-2) in 4 days of treatment for all groups. RESULTS: The cells treated with combination of bFGF and steroid hormones represented more expressions of neural markers as compared to control and to other two groups treated with either bFGF or steroid hormones. CONCLUSION: This study showed that BM-MSCs can express specific neural markers after receiving bFGF pretreatment that was followed by sex steroid hormones treatment. More investigations are necessary to specify whether steroid hormones and bFGF can be considered for treatment of CNS diseases and disorders.