Less is known about the non-mesenchymal mononuclear cell fraction of human bone marrow on functional
adaptation of neuroblastoma cells. Using immunocytochemistry, we showed that bone-marrow mononuclear cell
(BMMC)-conditioned medium can induce tyrosine hydroxylase expression in neuroblastoma cells, which is similar to
the effect of retinoic acid. Using quantitative RT-PCR, we showed that NGF, CNTF, and BDNF mRNAs were detected
in unfractionated BMMC populations from all human donors at different expression levels. Our results suggest that
cells of the non-mesenchymal mononuclear cell fraction can induce functional adaptation of neuroblastoma cells,
probably via their secreted trophic factors.
