Direct lineage conversion of fibroblasts into oligodendrocyte progenitor cells

Abstract

Generation of patient­specific oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) holds great potential as an expandable cell source not only for cell replacement therapy but also drug screening in spinal cord injury or demyelinating diseases. Here we show that induced OPCs (iOPCs) can be derived directly from fibroblasts through aggregate forming stage for high­purity. Homogenous iOPCs show typical small­bipolar morphology, maintain self­renewal capacity and OPC marker expression until passage 31, exhibit high similarity in global gene expression profile compared to wild­type OPCs and give rise to mature oligodendrocytes as well as astrocytes in vitro and in vivo. Notably, transplanted iOPCs contribute to functional recovery of spinal cord injury (SCI) model without tumor formation. This study provides a simple strategy to generate functional self­renewing iOPCs and raises insights for in–depth study of demyelination and regenerative medicine.