Reprogramming ‘Support Cells’ into Neurons Could Repair Injured Adult Brains

November 21, 2014

(Medical Xpress) – The portion of the adult brain responsible for complex thought, known as the cerebral cortex, lacks the ability to replace neurons that die as a result of Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and other devastating diseases. A study in the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s journal Stem Cell Reports, published by Cell Press on November 20 shows that a Sox2 protein, alone or in combination with another protein, Ascl1, can cause nonneuronal cells, called NG2 glia, to turn into neurons in the injured cerebral cortex of adult mice. The findings reveal that NG2 glia represent a promising target for neuronal cell replacement strategies to treat traumatic brain injury.