Abstract:

Objective To investigate the feasibility of rat bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) differentiating into endothelial cells in medium with high concentration rhGM-CSF (recombinant human GM-CSF). Methods Bone marrow cells were obtained from rats bones (10 Sprague-Dawley male rats) with an aseptic technique. Afterwards, all obtained cells were divided into two groups: cells in test group were cultured in 1640 medium with high concentration rhGM-CSF (400 μg/L) in order to induce bone marrow stromal cells into endothelial cells; cells in control groups were cultured in medium with 1640 medium only. Cells on the 8th day were collected for observation with electronic microscopy of ultrastructural characteristics. Results Cells of test group demonstrated specific characteristics by transmission electronic microscopy observation, especially W-P bodies (Weibel-Palade bodies) were observed. There were polygon shaped cells with lots of thin pseudopodium and short micro-floss at the cells membrane under scanning electronic microscopic evaluation, which were coincided with endothelia cells characteristics. Conclusion Bone marrow stromal cells are able to differentiate into cells with endothelial-like characters in the medium with high concentration rhGM-CSF.

Key words: rhGM-CSF, bone marrow stromal cells, endothelial cell, W-P body