Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of sphingosine kinase 1（SPK1） gene transfection on the biological characteristics of rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells（MSC）. Methods MSC were infected by recombinant adenovirus carrying SPK1.SPK1 expression was identified by Western blot.Cellular SPK-1 activity was detected by gamma-32P adenosine 5’-triphosphate incorporation assay.Characteristics of gene-transfected MSC including their proliferation, multiple differentiation potentials and their resistance to serum deprivation were investigated by MTT assay, histological staining with oil red O, and flow cytometry, respectively. Results Ad-SPK-infected MSC effectively expressed the SPK-1 protein and exhibited remarkable enzyme activity.In vitro, SPK1 over-expression did not affect MSC in cell proliferation and osteogenic or adipogenic differentiation potentials.Interestingly, SPK1 gene modification reduced MSC apoptosis by 30.71% under the serum starvation condition. Conclusion SPK-1 gene transfection increases the antiapoptotic ability of MSC while maintaining their proliferation and differentiation features.