Neurons are responsible not only for our memory, but also for the ability to move, but some diseases deprive people of this ability. Recently, scientists have developed a revolutionary method that allows you to get motor neurons directly from ordinary skin cells.
Traditionally, to create neurons from skin cells, they were first transformed into stem cells and then into nerve. However, this process is long and not always effective. The new technique avoids the intermediate stage, greatly simplifying and accelerating the process. Researchers used a unique combination of three transcription factors (NGN2, ISL1 and LHX3) together with two genes (P53DD and mutant HRAS). This "genetic cocktail" allowed to directly reprogram skin cells into the motor neurons - those that control the muscles of our body. Development is especially important for the treatment of paralysis diseases, such as: spinal cord injuries, lateral amyotrophic sclerosis (BAS), neurodegenerative diseases. During the experiments on mice, artificially created neurons successfully integrated into their nerve networks. This opens prospects for the use of the method in regenerative medicine and therapy. Previous trials on human cells gave encouraging results: the efficiency of transformation was from 10% to 30%. Although this is not the perfect indicator, scientists are working on improving it so that in the future the method can be used in clinical practice.
This study, published in Cell Systems, can change the approach to the treatment of nervous disorders. Due to the ability to create neurons from skin cells without the risks associated with stem cells, this method can be the basis of future therapy for the restoration of the nervous system.
