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Take the shortcut – direct conversion of somatic cells into induced neural stem cells and their biomedical applications
Author(s) -
Erharter Anita,
Rizzi Sandra,
Mertens Jerome,
Edenhofer Frank
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1002/1873-3468.13656
Subject(s) - reprogramming , somatic cell , induced pluripotent stem cell , neural stem cell , biology , stem cell , cell type , microbiology and biotechnology , regenerative medicine , computational biology , cell , neuroscience , embryonic stem cell , genetics , gene
Second‐generation reprogramming of somatic cells directly into the cell type of interest avoids induction of pluripotency and subsequent cumbersome differentiation procedures. Several recent studies have reported direct conversion of human somatic cells into stably proliferating induced neural stem cells ( iNSC s). Importantly, iNSC s are easier, faster, and more cost‐efficient to generate than induced pluripotent stem cells ( iPSC s), and also have a higher level of clinical safety. Stably, self‐renewing iNSC s can be derived from different cellular sources, such as skin fibroblasts and peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and readily differentiate into neuronal and glial lineages that are indistinguishable from their iPSC ‐derived counterparts or from NSC s isolated from primary tissues. This review focuses on the derivation and characterization of iNSC s and their biomedical applications. We first outline different approaches to generate iNSC s and then discuss the underlying molecular mechanisms. Finally, we summarize the preclinical validation of iNSC s to highlight that these cells are promising targets for disease modeling, autologous cell therapy, and precision medicine.