To address such concerns, more recent attempts have focused on directly inducing expandable neural stem cells from somatic cells, isolating mitotic and multipotential clones of interest, and then generating cells types of interest, both neurons and glia, from those cells (Lujan et al., 2012; Thier et al., 2012). This approach may permit the production of both glial progenitor cells and their derived oligodendrocytes as well as neurons from directly induced somatic cells. By this means, the production of an expandable, homogeneous, and potentially myelinogenic cell population might be obtained from transduced somatic cells. Future studies will determine whether this approach is sufficiently predictable and efficient to enable autologous therapy, and to do so in the time frame required of those disorders for which rapid cell replacement is required for anatomic stabilization and functional recovery.
