BACKGROUND:Danhong injection, scavenging free radicals and inhibiting lipid peroxidation, can improve microenvironment injury after cerebral infarction. OBJECTIVE:To explore the influence of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s combined with Danhong injection on expression of GAP-43 and Bcl-2 after cerebral infarction in rats. METHODS:Sixty Wistar rats were selected to prepare models of cerebral infarction by middle cerebral artery occlusion and then randomly divided into control group, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel group, and combination group. Control group received tail vein injection of PBS. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel group received tail vein injection of 2.5×109/L bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel suspension. Combination group received injection of 2.5× 109/L bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel suspension+2 mL/kg Danhong injection, for 5 consecutive days, once a day. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:There were no significant differences in the neurological dysfunction scores among the three groups at 24 hour and 3 days after implantation (P>0.05). The neurological dysfunction scores in the ombination group were significantly lower than those in the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel group and control group at 1 and 2 weeks after transplantation (P<0.05). In the combination group, GAP-43 and Bcl-2 expression was significantly higher than the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel group and control group (P<0.05). Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel transplantation combined with Danhong injection can significantly promote the local expression of GAP-43 and Bcl-2 after cerebral infarction, and has obvious inhibitory effects on cel apoptosis in rats with cerebral infarction.