Dr. Shawn Hingtgen led the study published this month in Nature Communications, which utilized mouse fibroblast cells, a type of skin cell. Using a technique for which Dr. John B. Gurdon and Dr. Shinya Yamanaka won the Noble Prize in Medicine in 2012, Hingtgen’s laboratory reprogrammed the fibroblast cells via transdifferentiation to become induced neuronal stem cells (iNSC). This technique essentially takes development backward, where differentiated cells return to a pluripotent state.

Using mouse glioblastoma tumor models, the researchers found that the iNSCs were actually tumorigenic and migrated to the site of tumors. Further, the team engineered the iNSCs to produce tumor necrosis factor-α-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, a molecule that causes apoptosis, or cell death. The reprogramed iNSCs demonstrated that they were excellent vehicles for targeting the glioblastoma and delivering the anti-cancer compounds. In fact, the study demonstrated a decrease of the growth of established solid and diffuse patient-derived orthotopic glioblastoma xenografts 230- and 20-fold, respectively. Furthermore, the survival time of the mice increased 160 to 220%. According to Dr. Hingtgen, “This is the first time this direct reprogramming technology has been used to treat cancer.”