10.3389/fncel.2018.00198.s001 Yukyeong Lee Yukyeong Lee C-Yoon Kim C-Yoon Kim Hye Jeong Lee Hye Jeong Lee Jae Gon Kim Jae Gon Kim Dong Wook Han Dong Wook Han Kisung Ko Kisung Ko James Walter James Walter Hyung-Min Chung Hyung-Min Chung Hans R. Schöler Hans R. Schöler Young Min Bae Young Min Bae Kinarm Ko Kinarm Ko Image_1_Two-Step Generation of Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells From Mouse Fibroblasts for Spinal Cord Injury.pdf Frontiers 2018 oligodendrocyte progenitor cells oligodendrocytes neural stem cells direct-converted neural stem cells spinal cord injury 2018-07-25 15:41:08 Figure https://frontiersin.figshare.com/articles/figure/Image_1_Two-Step_Generation_of_Oligodendrocyte_Progenitor_Cells_From_Mouse_Fibroblasts_for_Spinal_Cord_Injury_pdf/6860657 <p>Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) are attracting attention as the ideal cell therapy for spinal cord injury (SCI). Recently, advanced reprogramming and differentiation techniques have made it possible to generate therapeutic cells for treating SCI. In the present study, we used directly-induced neural stem cells (DNSCs) from fibroblasts to establish OPCs (DN-OPCs) capable of proliferation and confirmed their OPC-specific characteristics. Also, we evaluated the effect of transplanted DN-OPCs on SCI in rats. The DN-OPCs exhibited an OPC-specific phenotype and electrophysiological function and could be differentiated into oligodendrocytes. In the SCI model, transplanted DN-OPCs improved behavior recovery, and showed engraftment into the host spinal cord with expression of myelin basic protein. These results suggest that DN-OPCs could be a new source of potentially useful cells for treating SCI.</p>