《Mash1 efifciently reprograms rat astrocytes into neurons》.pdfVIP

NEURAL REGENERATION RESEARCH January 2014,Volume 9,Issue 1 Mash1 efficiently reprograms rat astrocytes into neurons Daofang Ding1, 2, Leqin Xu1, 2, Hao Xu1, 2, Xiaofeng Li1, 2, Qianqian Liang1, 2, Yongjian Zhao1, 2, Yongjun Wang1, 2 1 Institute of Spine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China 2 Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China Abstract Daofang Ding and Leqin Xu contributed To date, it remains poorly understood whether astrocytes can be easily reprogrammed into equally to this paper. neurons. Mash1 and Brn2 have been previously shown to cooperate to reprogram fibroblasts into neurons. In this study, we examined astrocytes from 2-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats, Corresponding author: and found that Brn2 was expressed, but Mash1 was not detectable. Thus, we hypothesized that Yongjun Wang, M.D., Ph.D., Institute of Mash1 alone could be used to reprogram astrocytes into neurons. We transfected a recombinant Spine, Shanghai University of Traditional MSCV-MASH1 plasmid into astrocytes for 72 hours, and saw that all cells expressed Mash1. One Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200032, week later, we observed the changes in morphology of astrocytes, which showed typical neuro - China; Longhua Hospital, Shanghai Uni- nal characteristics. Moreover, β-tubulin expression levels were significantly higher in astrocytes versity of Traditional Chinese Medicine, expressing Mash1 than in control cells. These results indicate that Mash1 alone can reprogram Shanghai 200032, China, yjwang88@ astrocytes into neurons. . Key Words: nerve regeneration; Mash-1; Brn2; β -tubulin; r