Millimeter-wave exposure promotes the differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells into cells with a neural phenotype

This study investigated the ability of millimeter-wave (MMW) to promote the differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) into cells with a neural phenotype. The BMSCs were primarily cultured. At passage 3, the cells were induced by beta-mercaptoethanol (BME) in combination with MMW or BME alone. The expressions of nucleostemin (NS) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) were detected by immunofluorescent staining and Western blotting respectively to identify the differentiation. The untreated BMSCs predominately expressed NS. After induced by BME and MMW, the BMSCs exhibited a dramatic decrease in NS expression and increase in NSE expression. The differentiation rate of the cells treated with BME and MMW in combination was significantly higher than that of the cells treated with BME alone (P < 0.05). It was concluded that MMW exposure enhanced the inducing effect of BME on the differentiation of BMSCs into cells with a neural phenotype.