Direct lineage reprogramming to neural cells

Recently we have witnessed an array of studies on direct reprogramming that describe induced inter conversion of mature cell types from higher organisms including human. While these studies reveal an unexpected level of plasticity of differentiated somatic cells, they also provide unprecedented opportunities to develop regenerative therapies for many debilitating disorders and model these 'diseases-in-a-dish' for studying their pathophysiology. Here we review the current state of the art in direct lineage reprogramming to neural cells, and discuss the challenges that need to be addressed toward achieving the full potential of this exciting new technology.

► Somatic cell-specific or pluripotent cell-specific factors can directly reprogram fibroblasts to neural cells. ► The hiNs and hiNSCs may offer a faster and robust alternative to iPSCs for generating patient-specific neural cells. ► We review here the state-of-the art and the challenges that remain in this exciting field.