Mesenchymal stem cells derived from rat bone marrow
Mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from the tibias and femurs of rats. Flushed cells were subjected to Histopaque density gradient separation, and the mononuclear fraction was harvested. This fraction was cultured on plastic dishes in low-glucose Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with fetal calf serum (10%), until the cells reached 70%–80% confluence.