Fig. 1
From: Prompting endogenous repair of brain injury: science fiction or reality?
In situ cellular reprogramming. Gene therapy and regenerative medicine are two approaches under investigation to restore tissue homeostasis. The concept of in situ regeneration proposes to combine these two technologies to promote the endogenous restoration of diseased tissues. Lentini et al. [1]. used a MTLE-HS mouse model to study the impact of glia-to-neuron lineage conversion to restore brain function and relieve seizures. In the healthy hippocampus, GABAergic interneurons regulate the activity of granule cells, but this population of inhibitory neurons is particularly vulnerable in the epileptic brain. Reactive glial cells expressing Asl1 and Dlx2, two neurogenic transcription factors, can convert into inhibitory neurons that subsequently integrate the damaged circuit and reduce the number and length of seizures. This technology could be envisioned for several other diseases resulting from the loss of neurons and featuring extensive gliosis, regardless of the CNS foci. Abbreviations: Ascl1 Achaete-scute homolog 1, CNS Central nervous system, Dlx2 Distal-Less Homeobox 2, EEG Electroencephalogram, MoMLV Moloney murine leukemia virus