Full small molecule conversion of human fibroblasts to neuroectodermal cells via a cocktail of Dorsomorphin and Trichostatin A

• Published in: Regenerative therapy Vol. 15; pp. 44 - 52
• Main Authors: Hosseini Farahabadi, Samaneh Sadat, Ghaedi, Kamran, Shoaraye-nejati, Alireza, Nasr-Esfahani, Mohammad-Hossein
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.12.2020; Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine; Elsevier
• Subjects: Fibroblast; Neuroectodermal cell; Original; Small molecules; Transdifferentiation; Neuroectodermal cell; Small molecules; Fibroblast; Transdifferentiation
• ISSN: 2352-3204; 2352-3204
• DOI: 10.1016/j.reth.2020.05.003

A revolutionary new approach to produce efficient cells is to induce transdifferentiation to make it conventional in therapeutic strategies. In this paper, we describe a brief cocktail of small molecules including Dorsomorphin (DSM) and Trichostatin A (TSA) to produce safe neuroectodermal cells as a resource to produce various types of nervous system cells for a safe cytotherapy. Furthermore, in order to optimize this strategy, we implemented a cocktail of neurotrophic factors to enhance the viability of the cell. This modification was accompanied by pretreatment of the culture dishes with a combination of poly-l-ornithine and laminin and fibronectin. In order to decrease the length of protocol and transdifferentiation variation concomitantly, TSA was utilized as an epigenetic modulator. Finally, this improved protocol mediated neuroectodermal conversion of human fibroblasts within 12 days with an average efficiency of 24%, promising a fast strategy to produce neuroectodermal cells applicable for therapeutic purposes in neural damages. Here we induce neural cells by a cocktail consists of two small molecules of DSM and TSA. Our protocol is a 12 day protocol with the efficiency of 24% which is a more efficient one in comparison to previous protocols inducing neural cells. Consequently, our protocol shortens the path of in vitro and preclinical studies in the field of neural conversion and neuroregeneration. •Full small molecule conversion of human fibroblasts to neuroectodermal cells became feasible.•Application of only 2 small molecules made this conversion possible.•A 12 day protocol with average efficiency of 24% promises a fast strategy to produce converted human neuroectodermal cells for cytotherapy goals.