Background: Neurodegenerative diseases lead to the death of neurons and dysfunction of the nervous system. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) can be used in the regeneration of neuronal cells. Curcumin is the active ingredient of Curcuma longa. The purpose of this study was to examine neurogenerative induction effects of curcumin on the BM-MSCs.
Methods: The MSCs were extracted from rats. The cytotoxic effects of curcumin on the MSCs were evaluated by MTT assay. For the purpose of evaluating the induction of neuron differentiation, BM-MSCs were cultured with pre-induction medium for 24 h and then in inductive medium containing curcumin or BHA and DMSO (positive control). The results were evaluated by examining cell morphology via inverted microscope.
Findings: The results of the MTT test showed that curcumin (1, 5 and 10 μM) did not affect the growth rate of MSC cells. The results of induction of neuron differentiation showed that the differentiation of BM-MSCs cells was visible from the second hour under treatment with curcumin. While, during the fourth hour onwards, the BM-MSCs were transformed into spherical neurosphere masses like those that were treated in the positive control group.
Conclusion: Curcumin with a suitable inducing effect on the differentiation of MSC into neural progenitor cells can be considered as a potential agent for further studies to introduce an effective drug in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.