The method of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) differentiation into neuron-like cells are not unified.The conditions for the neuronal induction of BMSCs from adult rats into neuron-like cells, and the expressions of neural markers during differentiation were investigated.The cell morphol. observation and protein mol. level experiment was performed at the College of Life Science, Soochow University from Sept. 2006 to Jan. 2007.Two clean Sprague Dawley rats were used.Fetal bovine serum (Sijiqing, China), basic fibroblast growth factor and Bu hydroxy anisol (Sigma, USA), and DMSO (Amresco) were used.BMSCs were isolated from bone marrow of young adult rats by Percoll method and purified by passage culture.Cell d. was regulated to 5×107 L-1.Cells in the induction group were treated with L-DMEM consisting of 10% fetal calf serum and 10 μg/L basic fibroblast growth factor for 24 h, then induced with L-DMEM consisting of 2% DMSO and 200 μmol/L Bu hydroxy anisol for 1, 3 and 5 h.Cells in the control group were treated with L-DMEM supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum.Morphol. changes of differentiated cells; Phenotype of neural cells was identified by immunofluorescence.After 24 h of preinduction, cells changed from spindle to polygonal or irregular, with many short rod-shape processes and 2-3 nucleoli.Whirlpool shape growth disappeared, and it was disordered.After 1-3 h of induction, cells gradually became round, with significant cell contraction, strong refraction, bipolar or pluripolar processes connected each other into a net.After 5 h of induction, grades one and two branches were detected.After 1-h induction, some of the BMSC-derived cells expressed nestin.After 3-h induction, a large number of cells continuously expressed nestin, and some of them expressed neuron specific enolase (NSE) and β-tubulin.The expression of NSE and β-tubulin increased, but the expression of nestin remarkably decreased after 5 h.No significant changes were detected in the control group, and cells were neg. for nestin.Preinduction was performed using basic fibroblast growth factor, which could promote the differentiation from BMSCs into nerve precursor cells or neurons.The expression of neuroprotein mol. was coincided with the development of neural cells.