BACKGROUND:The present study investigated the effects of low-molecular-weight components of bovine colostrum (LMCC), which were administeredper os, on the differentiation, growth, and survival of cells obtained from the bone marrow of rats in primary culture.

METHODS: Bone marrow cells (BMCs) were obtained from both the rat femurs and were cultured in medium 199 supplemented with antibiotics (8% streptomycin and 8% gentamycin) and 20% inactivated fetal calf serum. In addition, the number of BMCs was counted and their morphotypes were determined.

RESULTS: Animals were treated with copper (Cu) sulfate to induce liver fibrosis. Subsequent treatment with LMCC eliminated growth inhibition and normalized the bodyweight and temperature of animals with Cu-induced liver fibrosis. The number of lymphocytes in the bone marrow of animals with Cu-induced liver fibrosis was significantly higher than that in the bone marrow of control animals. The number of neutrophils in untreated animals with liver fibrosis and LMCC-treated animals with liver fibrosis was lower than that in control animals. Neutrophils obtained from untreated animals with liver fibrosis and LMCC-treated animals with liver fibrosis underwent two-times faster degradationin vitro than neutrophils obtained from control animals.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that LMCC affects the distribution of different morphological types of BMCs but does not prevent their degradationin vitro, which was two-times faster than that of BMCs obtained from control animals.