Parkinson's disease motor symptoms rescue by CRISPRa‐reprogramming astrocytes into GABAergic neurons
EMBO Molecular Medicine(2022)
Abstract
Direct reprogramming based on genetic factors resembles a promising strategy to replace lost cells in degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease. For this, we developed a knock-in mouse line carrying a dual dCas9 transactivator system (dCAM) allowing the conditional in vivo activation of endogenous genes. To enable a translational application, we additionally established an AAV-based strategy carrying intein-split-dCas9 in combination with activators (AAV-dCAS). Both approaches were successful in reprogramming striatal astrocytes into induced GABAergic neurons confirmed by single-cell transcriptome analysis of reprogrammed neurons in vivo. These GABAergic neurons functionally integrate into striatal circuits, alleviating voluntary motor behavior aspects in a 6-OHDA Parkinson's disease model. Our results suggest a novel intervention strategy beyond the restoration of dopamine levels. Thus, the AAV-dCAS approach might enable an alternative route for clinical therapies of Parkinson's disease.
MoreTranslated text
Key words
astrocytes,CRISPRa,GABAergic neurons,Parkinson's disease,reprogramming
AI Read Science
Must-Reading Tree
Example
![](https://originalfileserver.aminer.cn/sys/aminer/pubs/mrt_preview.jpeg)
Generate MRT to find the research sequence of this paper
Chat Paper
Summary is being generated by the instructions you defined