Sox2 protein transduction directly converts human fibroblasts into oligodendrocyte-like cells

چکیده مقاله

Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) are ideal therapeutic cells for treatment of spinal cord injuries
and diseases that affect myelin. However, it is necessary to generate a cell population with a low risk of
teratoma formation and oncogenesis from a patient’s somatic cells. In this study, we investigated the
direct reprogramming of fibroblasts to oligodendrocyte-like cells in one step with a safe non-genetic
delivery method that used protein transduction. Cell morphology and the lineage-specific marker
expression profile indicated that human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs) were converted into oligodendrocytelike
cells by the application of pluripotency factors and the use of a permissible induction medium. Our
data demonstrated that SOX2 was sufficient to directly drive OPC fate conversion from HFF by a geneticfree
approach. Therefore, this work has provided a strategy to OPC reprogramming by a non-integrating
approach for future use in disease modeling and may ultimately provide applications for patient-specific
cell-based regenerative medicine.