Background: Cisplatin is one of the most important antineoplastic drugs used in the treatment of many cancers; however the main dose-limiting side effect of cisplatin is nephrotoxicity. It has multiple cellular targets and modes of action that lead to nephrotoxicity. The present study aims to test whether bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) may play a therapeutic role in the treatment of nephrotoxicity. 
Material and methods: Adult male Sprague Dawley rats (SD), were divided into four groups. The first group was injected (i.p) with 1ml normal saline alone and kept as control, the second group was injected (i.p)  with 1ml normal saline containing 5mg/kg cisplatin, the third group was injected (i.p) with 1ml normal saline containing 5mg/kg cisplatin and 0.5 ml of culture media containing 5 x10⁶ BM-MSCs into the tail vein in the first day post cisplatin injection and the fourth group was injected with 1ml normal saline containing 5mg/kg cisplatin and 0.5 ml of culture media into the tail vein in the first day post cisplatin injection.
Results:Serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine clearance and malonadialdehyde were decreased in the kidney that received BM-MSCs while; superoxide dismutase and glutathione were increased to reach the normal values. Infusion of BM-MSCs ameliorated the renal dysfunction and enhanced tissue injury caused by cisplatin.
Conclusion: The present study shows BM-MSCs can exert a protective effect on cisplatin nephrotoxicity and suggests that BM-MSCs might be a new therapeutic approach for patients with kidney injury.