NEUROD1 efficiently converts peripheral blood cells into neurons with partial reprogramming by pluripotency factors

The direct reprogramming of cells has tremendous potential in in vitro neurological studies. Previous attempts to convert blood cells into induced neurons have presented several challenges, necessitating the development of a less invasive, efficient, rapid, and convenient approach. The current study introduces an optimized method for converting somatic cells into neurons using a nonsurgical approach that employs peripheral blood cells instead of fibroblasts. We have demonstrated the efficacy of a unique combination of transcription factors, including NEUROD1, and four Yamanaka reprogramming factors (OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4, and c-MYC), in generating glutamatergic neurons within a three-week period. This approach, which requires only five pivotal factors (NEUROD1, OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4, and c-MYC), has the potential to create functional neurons and circumvents the need for induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) intermediates, as evidenced by gene expression and single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses. Our method presents a rapid solution for modeling neuronal diseases with significant implications for drug discovery and personalized medicine and offers a patient-friendly alternative to traditional fibroblast reprogramming techniques. Human T cell-derive induced-neuron. Two different induction method. Each three replicate.