induction of bone marrow stromal cells into cholinergic-like cells by nerve growth factor

background: bone marrow stromal cells (bmsc) are used as a source for cell therapy in different model for neurological disorder such as stroke and spinal cord injury. however, the transdifferentiation of bmsc into cholinergic phenotype requires more investigation. methods: bmsc were isolated from adult rats, pre-induced with β-mercaptoethanol (bme) and followed by nerve growth factor (ngf) induction. neurofilaments of 68 kda, 160 kda and 200 kda (nf-200, nf-160 and nf-68, respectively) immuno-staining were used for evaluating the transdifferentiation of bmsc into neuronal phenotype. the percentage of neurofilaments immuno-reactive cells was applied in order to evaluate the results at the pre-induction and the induction stages. also, neurod and oct-4 expressions, using rt-pcr, were used in assessing the progression of bmsc into neuronal lineage. choline acetyltransferase immuno-reactive cells were used for estimating the percentage of cholinergic neuronal phenotype. immuno-staining with anti-microtubule-associated protein-2 (map-2) and anti-synapsin-i antibodies was done in order to evaluate cell tendency for synaptogenesis. results: the yield of cholinergic neurons with bme as pre-inducer and ngf as inducer was 80%. also, nf-200, nf-160, nf-68, map-2 and synapsin-i were detected in the transdifferentiated cells. rt-pcr showed the expression of neurod, while oct-4 was not detected. conclusion: bme as pre-inducer and ngf as inducer for bmsc transdifferentiation into cholinergic phenotype are potential sources in traumatic injury therapy in the central nervous system.