Skin Cells Reprogrammed Into Brain Cells

Skin Cells Reprogrammed Into Brain Cells

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Scientists who reprogrammed skin cells into brain cells say their research could lay the groundwork for new ways to treat Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases. The team at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco transferred a gene called Sox2 into both mouse and human skin cells. Within days, the skin cells transformed into early-stage brain stem cells called induced neural stem cells.

These cells began to self-renew and soon matured into neurons capable of transmitting electrical signals. Within a month, these new neurons had developed into neural networks, according to the research published online in the journal Cell Stem Cell.