Generating oligodendroglia from adult mesenchymal cells for transplantation: cell reprogramming or direct lineage conversion?

Cell replacement therapy has long been proposed as a treatment for the damaged nervous system. One of the most challenging aspects of such a strategy, however, is finding sources of donor cells for transplantation. Autologous neural cells are rarely an option as every cell in the nervous system has a defined function that would be lost if that cell was to be removed. One possibility would be sourcing precursor or differentiated cells from fetal tissues; however, aside from ethical issues, heterologous cells are at risk of immunological rejection in the long term. Methodological improvements over the past 15 years have led to the possibility that autologous non-neural cells could be used for cell transplantation through their conversion into neural derivatives.