REPROGRAMMING OF SOMATIC CELLS. PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
T.A. Schneider,1 V.S. Fishman,1,2 M.A. Liskovykh,3 S.V. Ponamartsev,3 O.L. Serov,1,4
A.N. Tomilin,3 N. Alenina 2,3,*
1 Institute of Cytology and Genetics RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia,
2 Max-Delbruck-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin-Buch, Germany,
3 Institute of Cytology RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia,
4 Novosibirsk State University, Russia;
* e-mail: alenina@mdc-berlin.de
An adult mammal is composed of more than 200 different types of specialized somatic cells whose differentiated
state remains stable over the life of the organism. For a long time it was believed that the differentiation
process is irreversible, and the transition between the two types of specialized cells is impossible. The possibility
of direct conversion of one differentiated cell type to another was first shown in the 80s of the last century
in experiments on the conversion of fibroblasts into myoblasts by ectopic expression of the transcription factor
MyoD. Surprisingly, this technology has remained unclaimed in cell biology for a long time. Interest in it revived
after 200 thanks to the research of Novel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka who has shown that a small set of
transcription factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc) is capable of restoring pluripotency in somatic cells which
they lost in the process of differentiation. In 2010, using a similar strategy and the tissue-specific transcription
factors Vierbuchen and coauthors showed the possibility of direct conversion of fibroblasts into neurons, i. e.
the possibility of transdifferentiation of one type of somatic cells in the other. The works of these authoras were
a breakthrough in the field of cell biology and gave a powerful impulse to the development of cell technologies
for the needs of regenerative medicine. The present review discusses the main historical discoveries that preceded
this work, evaluates the status of the problem and the progress in the development of methods for reprogramming
at the moment, describes the main approaches to solving the problems of reprogramming of somatic
cells into neuronal, and briefly discusses the prospect of application of reprogramming and transdifferentiation
of cells for such important application areas as regenerative medicine, cell replacement therapy and drug screening.
Key words: reprogramming, transdifferentiation, neurons
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