Elongated nanoporous Au networks mediate somatic cell direct conversion into induced dopaminergic neurons for Parkinson's disease therapy

Elongated nanoporous materials have become the focus of tremendous interest in the field of biomedical engineering. Especially, gold nanoparticles which are well-known as biocompatible materials have been reported to be cell fate conversion triggers in the presence of electromagnetic fields. The generation of dopaminergic neurons via a direct conversion method can potentially provide a novel therapeutic platform for Parkinson's disease therapy. In the present study, we show that elongated porous gold nanoparticles (AuNpRs) facilitate direct conversion to induced dopaminergic neurons in vitro and in vivo. Fibroblasts cultured with various aspect ratios of porous gold nanoparticles respond differently to each porosity. These results are attributed to specific transcriptional changes associated with antioxidant related molecules' activity that result in efficient iDNs direct lineage reprogramming. We suggest that AuNpRs can be efficient triggers for the direct conversion of induced dopaminergic neurons (iDNs). Generation of dopaminergic neurons via the direct conversion method may potentially provide a novel therapeutic platform for Parkinson's disease therapy.