The inability of damaged neurons to regenerate within the mature central nervous system(CNS)is a significant neuroscientific challenge.Astrocytes are an essential component of the CNS and participate in many physiolog...The inability of damaged neurons to regenerate within the mature central nervous system(CNS)is a significant neuroscientific challenge.Astrocytes are an essential component of the CNS and participate in many physiological processes including blood-brain barrier formation,axon growth regulation,neuronal support,and higher cognitive functions such as memory.Recent reprogramming studies have confirmed that astrocytes in the mature CNS can be transformed into functional neurons.Building on in vitro work,many studies have demonstrated that astrocytes can be transformed into neurons in different disease models to replace damaged or lost cells.However,many findings in this field are controversial,as the source of new neurons has been questioned.This review summarizes progress in reprogramming astrocytes into neurons in vivo in animal models of spinal cord injury,brain injury,Huntington’s disease,Parkinson’s disease,Alzheimer’s disease,and other neurodegenerative conditions.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.82071214(to JJL)Basic Scientific Research of the Central Public Research Institutes in China,No.2021CZ-2(to JJL)Special Fund for Joint Training of Doctoral Students between University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and China Rehabilitation Research Center,No.2020kfdx-009(to JJL and ZT)。
文摘The inability of damaged neurons to regenerate within the mature central nervous system(CNS)is a significant neuroscientific challenge.Astrocytes are an essential component of the CNS and participate in many physiological processes including blood-brain barrier formation,axon growth regulation,neuronal support,and higher cognitive functions such as memory.Recent reprogramming studies have confirmed that astrocytes in the mature CNS can be transformed into functional neurons.Building on in vitro work,many studies have demonstrated that astrocytes can be transformed into neurons in different disease models to replace damaged or lost cells.However,many findings in this field are controversial,as the source of new neurons has been questioned.This review summarizes progress in reprogramming astrocytes into neurons in vivo in animal models of spinal cord injury,brain injury,Huntington’s disease,Parkinson’s disease,Alzheimer’s disease,and other neurodegenerative conditions.
