Unlocking the Potential of Dermal Fibroblast: Direct Differentiation to Functional Neuron

Abstract

Neurodegenarative diseases are slow and progressive. Human nervous system is much more complicated than any animals. In human patients the disease courses don’t reflect in animal models and the variability and mutation are not alike. While focusing on neurological research for disease mechanism or drug testing, the data of animal models and their limitations severely impact on cell type specific contribution to disease. Hence, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived neurons used as valuable tools for studying disease mechanism or chemical testing for neurotoxicity. However, various disadvantages like the clonal selectivity, loss of epigenetic markers and time are the factors that impact on research achievements. Hence use of skin fibroblasts for direct conversion following rapid methods facilitates differentiation into astrocytes, neurons and oligodendrocytes. These fibroblast generated neuronal cells are of pure population at large numbers that are used for numerous neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. In this review author put some methods and their significances in the current technology.