MIT Scientists Convert Skin Cells Directly Into Motor Neurons

This breakthrough process bypasses the stem cell stage, offering potential for therapies targeting spinal cord injuries and neurodegenerative diseases.

• Researchers at MIT developed a method to convert mouse skin cells directly into motor neurons without first inducing pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
• The streamlined process uses three transcription factors and specific genes to achieve neuron conversion with significantly higher yields than previous methods.
• The generated neurons were successfully engrafted into mouse brains, where they integrated with host tissue and demonstrated electrical activity and calcium signaling.
• Efforts to adapt the process for human cells have shown promise but currently achieve lower efficiency rates of 10–30%.
• Future research aims to optimize human cell conversion and explore applications for treating spinal cord injuries and motor control diseases like ALS.

4 Articles

New Atlas GEN Interesting Engineering MIT News