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Progress on in situ cell transdifferentiation in central nervous system

WANG Hong-Tao^1,*, LI Yi-Zhe¹, FU Qi-Ran², ZHANG Meng-Yi¹, LI Hu¹

¹School of Life Science and Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China；²School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China

Abstract

Central nervous system injury leads to irreversible neuronal loss and glial scar formation, which ultimately results in persistent neurological dysfunction. Regenerative medicine suggests that replenishing missing neurons may be an ideal approach to repair the damage. Recent researches showed that many mature cells could be transdifferentiated into functional neurons by reprogramming. Therefore, reprogramming endogenous glia in situ to produce functional neurons shows great potential and unique advantage for repairing neuronal damage and treating neurodegenerative diseases. The present review summarized the current research progress on in situ transdifferentiation in the central nervous system, focusing on the cell types, characteristics and research progress of glial cells that could be transdifferentiated in situ, in order to provide theoretical basis for the development of new therapeutic strategies of neuronal injury and further clinical application.

Key words: transdifferentiation; in situ; in vivo; reactive glia

Received: 2018-10-08　　Accepted: 2018-11-12

Corresponding author: 王红涛　　E-mail: wanghongtao8618@126.com

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2019.0018

Citing This Article：

WANG Hong-Tao, LI Yi-Zhe, FU Qi-Ran, ZHANG Meng-Yi, LI Hu. Progress on in situ cell transdifferentiation in central nervous system. Acta Physiol Sin 2019; 71 (4): 597-603 (in Chinese with English abstract).