Abstract: Objective To observe the effect of bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells on intestine in the aging rats induced by D-galactose. Methods Healthy SD rats were divided into three groups at random: normal control group, aging model group and MSCs group. The aging model group were injected with D-galactose for 4 months to establish the aging rats. The contents of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in intestine were measured wtih hydroxylamine and chromatometry respectively. The pathological morphological changes of intestine were observed. MSCs were transfected by lentiviral vectors expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) to construct GFP-MSCs, and the migration of MSCs in intestine was examined. Results MSCs marked by GFP could migrate into the intestine. Compared with the aging model group，the activity of SOD was significantly lower，the content of MDA increased significantly in MSCs group, and there were significant differences:（133.7±3.6）, （105.1±4.3）U/ml, P <0.01; （5.9±0.1）, （6.9±0.1）(nmol/ml), P <0.01. The intestinal mucosa injury is serious in aging model group rats; and the intestine pathological injury had obvious repaired in MSCs group, compared with aging model group. Conclusion These results support the idea that transplantation of mesenchymal stem showed a protective effect on intestine damage induced by D-galactose.

Key words: mesenchymal stem cells, aging, intestine