Region-specific reprogramming of astrocyte
Direct neuronal reprogramming is a novel approach for neuronal replacement therapy. For instance, local astrocytes can be converted into nerve cells. Astrocytes are very abundant and differ across regions of the nervous system, like neurons. In their recent study, Giacomo Masserdotti, Magdalena Götz and their team found that the site of origin of the astrocytes seems to influence the generation of region-specific subtypes of nerve cells When astrocytes from spinal cord were reprogrammed by the transcription factors Ascl1 and Neurog2, they converted into nerve cells similar to interneurons. This neuronal identity was very different from the one obtained from forebrain astrocytes, highlighting astrocytes as ideal source to generate region-specific neuronal subtypes.
Publication: J. Kempf, K. Knelles, B.A. Hersbach, D. Petrik, T. Riedemann, V. Bednarova, A. Janjic, T. Simon-Ebert, W. Enard, P. Smialowski, M. Götz and G. Masserdotti: Heterogeneity of neurons reprogrammed from spinal cord astrocytes by the proneural factors Ascl1 and Neurogenin2. Cell Reports, 2021