More than one way to induce a neuron

Lim, Lynette; Marín, Oscar

doi:10.1038/d41586-018-04978-5

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09 May 2018

More than one way to induce a neuron

Seventy-six pairs of transcription factors can induce mouse connective-tissue cells to adopt a neuron-like identity in vitro. This discovery provides insights into both neuronal development and cell reprogramming.

Lynette Lim ⁰ &
Oscar Marín ¹

Lynette Lim
1. Lynette Lim is in the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE1 1UL, UK, and in the MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King’s College London.
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Oscar Marín
1. Oscar Marín is in the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE1 1UL, UK, and in the MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King’s College London.
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The brain contains hundreds of neuronal subtypes, each defined by a specific combination of features, including its position and shape, the neurotransmitter molecules it produces and its electrophysiological properties¹. Engineering this enormous diversity in the laboratory is an ultimate goal of regenerative medicine. In a paper in Nature, Tsunemoto et al.² describe a large-scale effort to identify factors that can endow non-neural cells cultured in vitro with neuronal properties.

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Nature 557, 316-317 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-04978-5

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