Sodium Ferulate combined with bone marrow stromal cell treatment ameliorating rat brain ischemic injury after stroke

Reports suggested that bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) could protect brain against ischemic injury. However, the limited number of BMSCs in the brain hampered their application. To explore a way that might improve the migration and differentiation of BMSCs in the brain after stroke, we investigated the additive therapeutic effect of combination Sodium Ferulate (SF) and BMSCs treatment of stroke. In general, BMSCs were primarily cultured from rat bone marrow and were identified by flow cytometry. Permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) was induced and the ischemic brain was observed by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. The neurological functional outcome was respectively evaluated at 0 hour, 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours post-operation, and the stromal cell-derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1α) /chemokine(CXC motif)receptor-4(CXCR4) mRNA and protein expressions at the marginal zone of the ischemic brain were respectively measured by real-time RT-PCR and Western Blot at 3days after stroke; furthermore, Nestin and BrdU double immunostaining was performed for identification of BMSC differentiation. Combination treatment of Stroke significantly improved the neurological functional recovery as early as 48 hours and up-regulated the SDF-1α /CXCR4 axis, enhanced BMSC migration into the ischemic brain and differentiation into Nestin-positive cells. We demonstrate that SF combined with BMSC administration can ameliorate rat brain ischemic injury and has beneficial effect on the rat neurological functional recovery after ischemic stroke.