A team of researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have developed a so-called “neuronal cookbook” that provides other scientists a set of instruction for how to convert skin cells into different types of brain neurons.
The new methodology should allow researchers to generate exactly the type of cells they need and to study them in a variety of ways. Such abilities were only a dream not long ago, so it is hoped that having ready access to brain cells will help to better understand various neural medical conditions and help find therapies to mitigate them.
Image: Human induced neurons generated from a novel transcription factor pair Neurog3/Pit1. Colors represent a nuclear stain (DAPI) in blue, synaptic marker expression (Synapsin1) in green, and neuron-specific beta-III tubulin expression (Tuj1) in red. Credit: Baldwin Lab / The Scripps Research Institute
Study in Nature: Diverse reprogramming codes for neuronal identity…