Fig. 1From: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and their derived exosomes resolve doxorubicin-induced chemobrain: critical role of their miRNA cargoAn illustration of the study design showing the timeline of the induction of chemobrain by doxorubicin (DOX) and the treatment with bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) or their exosomes (BMSCs-Exo), and behavioral test schedule. Rats were randomly assigned into four groups (n = 20/group) and treated for 4 weeks as follows: The first group served as the control group and received intra-peritoneal (i.p) injection of 0.9% sodium chloride given once weekly for 4 consecutive weeks. Forty-eight hours later, a single intravenous injection of 150 μL of particle-free PBS was given. The second group served as DOX-treated group and received DOX hydrochloride dissolved in 0.9% sodium chloride and given once weekly in a dose of 2 mg/kg, i.p. for 4 consecutive weeks. Forty-eight hours later, a single intravenous injection of 150 μL of particle-free PBS was given. The third group received DOX once weekly (2 mg/kg, i.p.) for 4 consecutive weeks followed by a single intravenous injections of (1 × 106) BMSCs per rat that was given 48 h after the last DOX dose. The fourth group was the BMSCs-Exo-treated group and received DOX once weekly (2 mg/kg, i.p.) for 4 consecutive weeks followed by a single dose of 150 μg of exosomal proteins per rat that was given 48 h after last DOX dose. Four rats were treated by labeled PKH26 Red Fluorescent Cell Linker BMSCs, and after 24 h, rats were then anesthetized with ketamine (100 mg/kg, i.p.) and sacrificed by cervical dislocation the whole brains were excised. Behavioral testing started 7 days after BMSCs and BMSCs-Exo administration. After 14 days from BMSCs and BMSCs-Exo injection, the four groups were then anesthetized with ketamine (100 mg/kg, i.p.) and sacrificed by cervical dislocation, the whole brains were excised, and hippocampi were dissected and weighedBack to article page