Application and prospects of somatic cell reprogramming technology for spinal cord injury treatment

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious condition that's hard to treat because it damages nerve cells and other cells in the spinal cord. Current treatments can't fully restore function. Somatic cell reprogramming, which turns other cell types into nerve cells, is a promising approach for repairing the injured spinal cord. This method involves reprogramming cells like skin cells or astrocytes into neurons or oligodendrocytes to repair the spinal cord. Researchers are exploring various factors like transcription factors and small molecules to achieve this reprogramming, offering new ideas for functional recovery after SCI. Somatic cell reprogramming therapy mainly involves reprogramming somatic cells that can be easily isolated or proliferate extensively upon nerve injury (e.g., fibroblasts or reactive astrocytes) into target cells such as neurons by biotechnological means in vitro or in vivo.

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  Fibroblasts, astrocytes, NG2 cells, and neural progenitor cells can be reprogrammed into neurons or oligodendrocytes to promote spinal cord repair.
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  Somatic cell reprogramming can be achieved using transcription factors, microRNAs, small molecules, or combinations thereof.
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  In vivo astrocyte reprogramming holds promise, converting astrocytes into neurons or oligodendrocytes to promote myelin regeneration and functional recovery.