Study investigates how to turn stem cells into motor neurons

Stem cells can develop into many different types of cells, such as muscle cells, red blood cells, or neurons. Given their special regenerative ability, stem cells can be used to treat a wide range of diseases. A team of researchers uncovers new details involved in the process of turning stem cells into motor neurons.

 

Somatic stem cells – also called adult stem cells – are undifferentiated cells that can be found throughout the human body in a tissue or organ. Their role is to maintain, renew, and repair the tissue in which they are found.

Through epigenetic reprogramming techniques – first introduced in 2006 by Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka and colleagues – these cells have been artificially transformed into neural stem cells.

This process involved transforming fibroblasts – a type of cell found in connective tissue – first into pluripotent cells, then into neural stem cells, and finally into neurons.

In direct reprogramming, however, the pluripotency stage is skipped. This allows for the transformation to take place in a more timely manner, and it also bypasses other limitations and risks of tumor formation found in the regular reprogramming technique.

Direct reprogramming has been used before to regenerate missing or damaged motor neurons. New research uncovers details of the transformation process that could one day enable researchers to create new types of cells.