Bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (Meshalkin Research Institute)

Bone marrow was aspirated from the iliac crest, under local anesthesia, using a standard technique. BM-MNCs were isolated by ficoll density gradient centrifugation (1.077; Ficoll-Plaque Plus). Three washing steps were performed and the cells were resuspended in heparinized saline for further use.