AbstractCellular reprogramming has shed new light on the plasticity of terminally differentiated cells and unearthed novel strategies for cell-based therapies to treat neurological disorders. With accumulating knowledge of the programs underlying the genesis of the distinct neural cell types, particularly the identification of crucial transcription factors and microRNAs, reprogramming of somatic cells of different origins into induced neuronal cells or neural stem cells has been successfully achieved. Starting with the general concept of reprogramming, we discuss three different paradigms: (1) direct conversion of central nervous system (CNS) foreign cells such as skin fibroblasts into induced neuronal cells or neural stem cells; (2) transdifferentiation of CNS resident cells such as astrocytes and brain pericytes into induced neuronal cells; (3) reprogramming of one neuronal subtype into another. The latter has already been successfully achieved in vivo during early brain development, providing a strong impulse to attempt direct reprogramming in situ for future brain repair.
Rapid and Efficient Direct Conversion of Human Adult Somatic Cells into Neural Stem Cells by HMGA2/let-7b