[Isolation and culture of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells from porcine bone marrow].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a method for the isolation of porcine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from bone marrow and to demonstrate their differentiation ex vivo into various mesenchymal tissue cells. METHODS: MSCs were isolated from bone marrow and purified by centrifuge and in vitro. The proliferation and growth characteristics were observed in primary and passage culture. Cell cycle was analyzed by measuring DNA content with FAC-Scan flow cytometer and cell multipotent was identified with specific staining. RESULTS: The adherent, fibroblast-like cells were confluent in single layer after plating for 12-14 days. The cultured MSCs in vitro differentiated into osteoblasts. The cell cycle analysis showed that 80% of MSCs were in G0/G1 phase. CONCLUSION: Porcine MSCs can be isolated from postnatal bone marrow through their adherent ability. Porcine MSCs may be introduced as a valuable model system to study the mesenchymal lineages for basic research and tissue engineering.