Bacterial protein can help convert stem cells into neurons

As the recipe book for turning stem cells into other types of cells keeps growing larger, the search for the perfect, therapeutically relevant blend of differentiation factors is revealing some interesting biology. A new study, for example, found that a protein in E. coli bacterial combined with small molecules can act synergistically to push pluripotent cells into functional neurons.

A study published November 19 in Chemistry & Biology, for example, found that a protein in E. coli bacteria combined with small molecules can act synergistically to push pluripotent cells into functional neurons. The differentiation of pluripotent stem cells can be conceived as two simple steps: first, a stem cell decides to no longer be a stem cell and begins to differentiate; second, the cell decides what kind of cell it wants to be. In protocol to induce neuron differentiation, the bacterial protein Skp acts in the first step by binding to Sox2 and inhibiting its function. The small chemicals neurodazine (Nz) and neurodazole (Nzl) then act in the second step by telling the stem cell to become a neuron. By influencing both steps, more functional neurons can be produced per batch of stem cells and at a faster rate if using either protein or small molecules alone.

One weakness of the protocol is that there are safety concerns around using bacterial proteins such as Skp in a therapeutic setting. However, using this protein is advantageous compared to introducing genetic elements because protein cannot cause any genetic alteration or instability, which are the major concerns of using virus-mediated gene delivery to the stem cells.

More details from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151119133237.htm