Direct Reprogramming Somatic Cells into Functional Neurons: A New Approach to Engineering Neural Tissue In Vitro and In Vivo

Abstract

Transcription factors, regulatory proteins expressed by cells to control gene expression, serve as powerful tools for engineering tissues. Their properties enable them to induce dramatic changes in cellular phenotype upon expression. Induced pluripotent stem cells provide a recent example of how combinations of transcription factors can induce somatic cells to transform into stem cells that possess the property of pluripotency. Recent studies have confirmed that a variety of techniques for expressing transcription factors can turn somatic cells into functional neurons. In this book chapter, we review these recent advances in directly reprogramming neural tissue from somatic cells using viral vectors, small-molecule cocktails, gene editing, and novel functionalized transcription factors. We also discuss the advantages and challenges associated with these approaches and identify obstacles to the clinical translation of these reprogramming technologies.