GDNF transfection promotes neuronal differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

Studies have shown that the differentiation rate of grafted bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into mature neuron-like cells is very low. Therefore, it is very important to establish an effcient and stable induction protocol to promote the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into neuron-like cells in vitro and elucidate the mechanisms underlying differentiation for the treatment of central nervous system diseases.

Jie Du and colleagues from Sichuan University in China found that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor/bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells have a higher rate of induction into neuron-like cells, and this enhanced differentiation into neuron-like cells may be associated with up-regulated expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, nerve growth factor and growth-associated protein-43. The researchers provide experimental support for the therapeutic use of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor gene-modified bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in transplantation strategies for central nervous system diseases.

The relevant paper has been published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 1, 2014).

More information:
Du J, Gao XQ, Deng L, Chang NB, Xiong HL, Zheng Y. Transfection of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor gene promotes neuronal differentiation. Neural Regen Res. 2014;9(1):33-40.

Provided by Neural Regeneration Research