Effects of dimethyl sulfoxide on expression of neurotrophic factors and dopaminergic genes by mesenchymal stem cells

  Introduction: Neurotrophic factors play an important role in differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into dopaminergic neurons. The objective of this work was to determine the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), glial cell derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), NT3 and NT5 and dopaminergic genes such as tyrosine hydroxylase in MSCs before and after dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) induction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the differentiation of MSCs induced by DMSO.   Materials and Methods: MSCs obtained from the femur and tibia of adult rats were cultured in α-MEM mediums supplemented with serum. Fourth passage of MSCs were cultured in two different types of medium: 1- α-MEM containing 10% serum as control group (untreated cells) and 2- α-MEM containing 2% DMSO as treated cells. Identification and determination of the purity of MSCs were examined by immunocytochemistry staining. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to study mentioned genes expression of the MSCs.   Results: These results represented that MSCs were immunopositive for alkaline phosphatase, anti- fibronectine and anti- CD90. In addition the semiquantative study of PCR method showed that some neurotrophic factors (BDNF, NGF, CNTF, GDNF) expression in the untreated MSCs increased significantly compared with that of DMSO-treated group (P