Bone marrow stromal stem cell tropism for malignant glioma

Objective To observe the tropism ofboue marrow stromal stem cells for malignantglioma in rats. Methods The immunophenotype of in vitro cultureA Fisher344 rat BMSCs wereidentified using flow cytometry. The BMSCs or NIH3T3 cells were cocultured with 9L glioma cells in aTranswell system, and 24 h later, the cell migration rate was calculated. For in vivo experiment, aFisber344 rat model bearing malignant glioma was established by stereotactic injection of 9L glioma cellsinto the brain. After validation of the model 2 weeks after the injection by neurobehavioral test, magneticresonance imaging and HE staining, the BMSCs or NIH3T3 cells were transplanted via the internalcarotid artery in the rats. Two weeks after the transplantation, the rats were sacrificed by routine cardiacperfusion, and BMSCs migration in the brain was detected immunohistochemically. Results Thethird to six passages of the BMSCs were negative for CD34 and CD45 but positive for CD29 and CD44.Transwell assay demonstrated BMSCs tropism for 9L cells in vitro. In Fisher344 rats bearing 9L glioma,neurobehavioral changes characteristic of glioma were observed, and the BMSCs transplanted via theinternal carotid artery were found to migrate to the glioma tissue, residing mostly on the boundarybetween the normal tissue and the tumor tissue. Conclusion Rat BMSCs show a tropism formalignant glioma both in vitro and in vivo, and administration via the internal carotid artery can be aneasy and effective means for BMSCs transplant. Key words: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells; Glioma; 9L cells; Tropism