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Background  Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in glial scar formation and irreversible neuronal loss, which finally leads to functional impairments and long-term disability. Our previous studies have demonstrated that the ectopic expression of  Zfp521  reprograms fibroblasts and astrocytes into induced neural stem cells (iNSCs). However, it remains unclear whether treatment with  Zfp521  also affects endogenous astrocytes, thus promoting further functional recovery following SCI.    Methods  Rat astrocytes were transdifferentiated into neural stem cells in vitro by  ZFP521  or  Sox2 . Then,  ZFP521  was applied to the spinal cord injury site of a rat. Transduction, real-time PCR, immunohistofluorescence, and function assessments were performed at 6 weeks post-transduction to evaluate improvement and in vivo lineage reprogramming of astrocytes.    Results  Here, we show that  Zfp521  is more efficient in reprogramming cultured astrocytes compared with  Sox2.  In the injured spinal cord of an adult rat, resident astrocytes can be reprogrammed into neurons through a progenitor stage by  Zfp521 . Importantly, this treatment improves the functional abilities of the rats as evaluated by the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale and further by calculation of its subscores. There was enhanced locomotor activity in the hind limbs, step length, toe spread, foot length, and paw area. In addition, motor evoked potential recordings demonstrated the functional integrity of the spinal cord.    Conclusions  These results have indicated that the generation of iNSCs or neurons from endogenous astrocytes by in situ reprogramming might be a potential strategy for SCI repair.    Graphical abstract

stem cell research and therapy

In vivo conversion of rat astrocytes into neuronal cells through neural stem cells in injured spinal cord with a single zinc-finger transcription factor