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Progress in direct reprogramming of dopaminergic cell replacement therapy

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Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a gradual neurodegenerative disease. While drug therapy and surgical treatments have been the primary means of addressing PD, they do not offer a cure, and the risks associated with surgical treatment are high. Recent advances in cell reprogramming have given rise to new prospects for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD), with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), induced dopamine neurons (iDNs), and induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) being created. These cells can potentially be used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. On the other hand, this article emphasizes the limits of iPSCs and iNSCs in the context of Parkinson’s disease treatment, as well as approaches for direct reprogramming of somatic cells into iDNs. The paper will examine the benefits and drawbacks of directly converting somatic cells into iDNs.

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Abbreviations

PD:

Parkinson’s disease

DBS:

Deep brain stimulation

iPSCs:

Induced pluripotent stem cells

iNSCs:

Induced neural stem cells

iDNs:

Induced dopamine neurons

6-OHDA:

6-Hydroxydopamine

MEFs:

Mouse embryonic fibroblasts

DP:

Dopamine precursors

VPA:

Valproic acid

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Funding

This work was supported by the Shandong Province Natural Science Foundation Grants ZR2018LC008 (Y.W.) and Yantai Science and Technology Innovation Development Plan 2020XDRH106 (Y.W.).

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Author notes

  1. Yuan Yuan Zheng and Hui Xu have contributed equally to this work and share the first authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China

    Yuan Yuan Zheng & Yue Si Wang

  2. Human Resources Department, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China

    Hui Xu

  3. Medicine and Pharmacy Research Center, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China

    Yue Si Wang

  4. Yantai Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China

    Yue Si Wang

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  1. Yuan Yuan Zheng
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Correspondence to Yue Si Wang.

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Zheng, Y.Y., Xu, H. & Wang, Y.S. Progress in direct reprogramming of dopaminergic cell replacement therapy. Neurol Sci 45, 873–881 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-023-07175-z

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