Bone marrow stromal cells of transgenic mice can improve the cognitive ability of an Alzheimer's disease rat model.

This study investigated the effects of bone marrow stromal cells transplantation on Alzheimer's disease (AD). Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) were obtained from the bone marrow of transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein and transplanted into the hippocampus of rats, which had received an injection of beta amyloid protein into the hippocampus 8 days earlier. Morris Water Maze test was used to observe behavior 2 weeks after transplantation. The survival and differentiation of the grafts were studied immunohistochemically. Behavior improved significantly in the transplanted group. The transplanted BMSC survived and presented ChAT-like neurons, indicating that these transplanted cells might differentiate into cholinergic neurons and the procedure could be a promising therapy for Alzheimer's disease.