Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered a promising tool for treating cerebral ischemic injury. However, their poor survival after transplantation limits their therapeutic effect and applications. Salidroside has been reported to exert potent cytoprotective and neuroprotective effects. This study aimed to investigate whether salidroside could improve MSC survival under hypoxic-ischemic conditions and, subsequently, alleviate cerebral ischemic injury in a rat model. MSCs were pretreated by salidroside under hypoxic-ischemic conditions. The cell proliferation, migratory capacity, and apoptosis were evaluated by means of Cell Counting Kit-8, transwell assay, and flow cytometry. MSCs pretreated with salidroside were transplanted into the rats subsequent to middle cerebral artery occlusion. The grip strength, 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride, and hematoxylin–eosin staining were used to analyze the therapeutic efficiency and pathological changes. The mature neuron marker NeuN and astrocyte marker GFAP in the focal area were detected by immunofluorescence. These results indicated that salidroside promoted the proliferation, migration and reduced apoptosis of MSCs under hypoxic-ischemic conditions. In vivo experiments revealed that transplantation of salidroside-pretreated MSCs strengthened the therapeutic efficiency by enhancing neurogenesis and inhibiting neuroinflammation in the hippocampal CA1 area after ischemia. Our results suggest that pretreatment with salidroside could be an effective strategy to enhance the cell survival rate and the therapeutic effect of MSCs in treating cerebral ischemic injury.

间充质干细胞 (MSCs) 被认为是治疗脑缺血性损伤的有前途的工具。然而，它们移植后存活率低，限制了它们的治疗效果和应用。据报道，红景天苷发挥有效的细胞保护和神经保护作用。本研究旨在调查红景天苷是否可以提高缺氧缺血条件下的 MSC 存活率，从而减轻大鼠模型中的脑缺血性损伤。MSCs 在缺氧缺血条件下用红景天苷预处理。通过细胞计数试剂盒8、transwell测定和流式细胞术评估细胞增殖、迁移能力和凋亡。在大脑中动脉闭塞后，将用红景天苷预处理的MSCs移植到大鼠体内。握力，2,3,5-三苯基四唑氯化物，采用苏木精-伊红染色分析疗效及病理变化。免疫荧光检测病灶区成熟神经元标志物NeuN和星形胶质细胞标志物GFAP。这些结果表明红景天苷在缺氧缺血条件下促进MSCs的增殖、迁移和减少细胞凋亡。体内实验表明，移植红景天苷预处理的 MSCs 通过增强神经发生和抑制缺血后海马 CA1 区域的神经炎症来增强治疗效率。我们的研究结果表明，红景天苷预处理可能是提高细胞存活率和MSCs治疗脑缺血性损伤的有效策略。