title: Direct generation of neurosphere-like cells from human dermal fibroblasts.
abstract: Neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation replaces damaged brain cells and provides disease-modifying effects in many neurological disorders. However, there has been no efficient way to obtain autologous NSCs in patients. Given that ectopic factors can reprogram somatic cells to be pluripotent, we attempted to generate human NSC-like cells by reprograming human fibroblasts. Fibroblasts were transfected with NSC line-derived cellular extracts and grown in neurosphere culture conditions. The cells were then analyzed for NSC characteristics, including neurosphere formation, gene expression patterns, and ability to differentiate. The obtained induced neurosphere-like cells (iNS), which formed daughter neurospheres after serial passaging, expressed neural stem cell markers, and had demethylated SOX2 regulatory regions, all characteristics of human NSCs. The iNS had gene expression patterns that were a combination of the patterns of NSCs and fibroblasts, but they could be differentiated to express neuroglial markers and neuronal sodium channels. These results show for the first time that iNS can be directly generated from human fibroblasts. Further studies on their application in neurological diseases are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Clinical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Soon-Tae
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Keun-Hwa
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Young-Mi
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Daejong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Seung U
authors.initials: SU
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Manho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang Kun
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jae-Kyu
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Roh
mesh_terms: D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D020405:Dermis / Q000166:cytology*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018874:Spheroids, Cellular / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism