Establishment of a novel cell fate conversion procedure that may be applicable to regeneration therapy for peripheral nerve injury

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K15751
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Plastic surgery
• Research Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Kishida Tsunao 京都府立医科大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 准教授 (00370205)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): SOWA Yoshihiro 京都府立医科大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 講師 (80468264)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: ダイレクト・コンヴァージョン / シュワン細胞 / 神経再生

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Schwann cells play important roles in the regeneration of the peripheral nerve tissue, by secreting neurotrophic factors, producing extracellular matrix, and forming myelin. If transplantation of autologous Schwann cells is possible, such a procedure may provide an ideal regenerative therapy to treat a large nerve defect caused by trauma and by surgical resection of a tumor, as well as diseases associated with functional aberration of Schwann cells.
We established a technology to directly convert human fibroblasts into Schwann cells. We have also succeeded in inducing such Schwann cells that may be more suitable for transplantation therapy, and confirmed that they are highly functional.

Free Research Field

再生医療