Directly Converted Human Fibroblasts Mature to Neurons and Show Long-Term Survival in Adult Rodent Hippocampus

Figure 1

Human lung fibroblasts directly converted to human neurons survive for six months transplanted into the adult rat hippocampus. (a) Transplanted human lung fibroblasts, directly converted with the BAM factors, express human neuronal cell adhesion molecule (hNCAM) already at one month postgrafting in adult rat hippocampus (top third) and striatum (lower third). The converted cells survive and keep their neuronal appearance and hNCAM expression for six months in the hippocampus (middle third). (b) No difference between regions or time points was observed when studying the gross neuronal morphology observed in hNCAM-labelled cells either in cell number, distance to first branching point (DT1BP), or soma circumference (soma circum.).

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