Bone marrow mononuclear cells characterization and participation in the Wallerian degeneration process

VANINA USACH, BELÉN GOITIA AND PATRICIA SETTON-AVRUJ

Mar del Plata, Argentina

Congreso; XLIII Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (SAIB),; 2007

We have previously described the spontaneous migration or after an intraortically injection of fresh bone marrow mononuclear cells CD34+ to the distal stump of a ligated sciatic nerve. The aim of the present work is to characterize the fresh and cultured bone marrow cells in order to know which is the population that migrate to the injured nerve during the Wallerian degeneration process. The cells were isolated from the bone marrow extruded from tibia and femur bone from adult Wistar rats. A group was immediately processed and the other was seeded. After 24 and 48hs the non adherent cells were separated and the adherent cells were grown to confluence. In the suspended and plated cells the presence of a progenitor cell marker (CD34), a pan-haematopoietic cell marker (CD45) and a myelomonocytic cell marker (CD11b) were detected by western blot. The cultured cells represent a heterogeneous population with small rounded, spindle shaped or large flattened morphology. Most cells grow and exhibit fibroblast like morphology in reaching confluence. This population is CD11b- and CD45-. After 24 and 48hs in culture the adherent and non adherent cells are CD34+ and the non adherent cells are CD45+.   Our results demonstrate the existence of a progenitor population cells that spontaneously migrate to the injured nerve in order to participate in the degeneration-regeneration process.