Direct Reprogramming Strategies for the Treatment of Nervous System Injuries and Neurodegenerative Disorders

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Handbook of Stem Cell Therapy

Abstract

Cell transplantation is an attractive therapeutic avenue for injuries of the central nervous system (CNS) and neurodegenerative disorders. Transplanted cells are able to restore the cells that are lost in the injury process, including neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes. Various clinically relevant cell types and sources have been explored thus far, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which can be used for autologous transplantation. Despite this advantage, differentiation of iPSCs remains time consuming, which may be a limitation in urgent clinical cases. Additionally, the intermediate pluripotent state increases the risk of tumorigenicity when transplanting iPSCs. In this regard, research efforts have shifted toward the transdifferentiation of somatic cells into a variety of neural cell types, including neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes or their progenitors. This method bypasses the pluripotent stage to reduce the risk of tumorigenicity, thus reducing the induction timeline while still maintaining the patient-specific capacity of the cells. Neural cells or their progenitors can be differentiated in vitro using a number of methods, including transient expression or suppression of certain transcription and chromatin remodeling factors through gene manipulation, or miRNA and small molecule treatment. Recently, research efforts have also focused on in vivo transdifferentiation, in which endogenous cells are targeted for conversion into cell types of interest. The following chapter will focus on the general principles of direct neural lineage conversion, the methods used to derive particular cell types, and their application to injuries of the CNS.

Katarzyna Pieczonka and William Brett Mclntyre have contributed equally to this chapter.

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Abbreviations

6-OHDA:

6-hydroxydopamine

AD:

Alzheimer’s disease

BMA:

Ascl1, Brn2, Mytl1

CNS:

Central nervous system

CPZ:

Cuprizone

CRISPRa:

CRISPR activation

DCas9:

Dead form of Cas9

DCX:

Doublecortin

DRNPCs:

Directly reprogrammed neural progenitor cells

HDAC:

Histone deacetylase

FACS:

Fluorescent activated cell sorting

IPSCs:

Induced pluripotent stem cell

INSCs:

Induced neural stem cells

miRNA:

Micro-RNA

MACS:

Magnetic-activated cell sorting

MBD2:

Methyl-CpG-binding domain protein 2

MS:

Multiple sclerosis

MSI1:

Musashi

Ngn2:

Neurogenin-1

NSCs:

Neural stem/progenitor cells

OPC:

Oligodendrocyte precursor cell

ORF:

Open reading frame

PD:

Parkinson’s disease

RA:

Retinoic acid

SCI:

Spinal cord injury

SCRNASeq:

Single-cell RNA sequencing

SGRNA:

Single guide RNA

SHH:

Sonic hedgehog

TBI:

Traumatic brain injury

TF:

Transcription factor

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Correspondence to Mohamad Khazaei or Michael G. Fehlings .

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© 2022 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Pieczonka, K., McIntyre, W.B., Khazaei, M., Fehlings, M.G. (2022). Direct Reprogramming Strategies for the Treatment of Nervous System Injuries and Neurodegenerative Disorders. In: Haider, K.H. (eds) Handbook of Stem Cell Therapy. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2655-6_14

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