Title:Direct Reprogramming in Bone and Joint Degenerative Diseases: Applications,
Obstacles and Directions
Volume: 18
Issue: 6
Author(s): Kesi Shi, Fangcai Li*, Yiqing Tao*Qixin Chen*
Affiliation:
- Department of Orthopedics Surgery, 2nd Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 88 Jiefang Road,
Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Orthopedics Research Institute of Zhejiang
University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Orthopedics Surgery, 2nd Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 88 Jiefang Road,
Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Orthopedics Research Institute of Zhejiang
University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Orthopedics Surgery, 2nd Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 88 Jiefang Road,
Hangzhou 310009, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Orthopedics Research Institute of Zhejiang
University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
Keywords:
Direct reprogramming, bone and joint degenerative diseases, applications, obstacles, directions, microenvironment.
Abstract: With a booming aging population worldwide, bone and joint degenerative diseases have gradually
become a major public health focus, attracting extensive scientific attention. However, the effective
treatments of these degenerative diseases have been confined to traditional medications and surgical interventions,
which easily lead to the possibility of drug abuse or loss of physiological function to varying
degrees. Recently, given that the development of reprogramming has overcome shackles in the field of
degenerative diseases, direct reprogramming would provide a new concept to accelerate progress in the
therapy of bone and joint degenerative diseases. The process of direct reprogramming would directly
induce ordinary somatic cells to the desired targeted cells without passing through pluripotent cell states.
In this review, we summarize some direct reprogramming of cells that has been attempted for the repair of
common bone and joint degenerative diseases, such as osteoarthritis, osteoporosis-related fracture and
intervertebral disc degeneration. However, it is inevitable that some obstacles, such as accurate transcription
factors, an appropriate extracellular microenvironment and efficient delivery carriers in vivo, need to
be resolved. In addition, developmental and promising directions associated with direct reprogramming
have attracted public attention. Investigation of the regulation of the transient genome, metabolic conversion
and cellular skeleton would provide superior potential candidates for the revolution of direct reprogramming.
The aim of direct reprogramming is to directly provide target cells for cell therapy and even
tissue reconstruction in bone and joint degenerative diseases. Moreover, the development of direct reprogramming
have potential to achieve repair and even reconstruct in situ, which would be breakthrough
effect for the repair of bone and joint degenerative diseases. The advance of direct reprogramming has
opened numerous opportunities for new therapeutic strategies in regenerative medicine.
