Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42722703›Full record

ArticleExperimental & molecular medicine2026

TRANsCre-DIONE transdifferentiates scar-forming reactive astrocytes into functional motor neurons.

Heeyoung An, Hye-Lan Lee, Doo-Wan Cho, Jinpyo Hong, Hye Yeong Lee, Jung Moo Lee, SunYeong Choi, In-Young Hwang, Junsung Woo, Jaekwang Lee and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Experimental & molecular medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Heeyoung An *Center for Memory and Glioscience, Institute for Basic Science, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5712-793X
Hye-Lan Lee *Spine and Spinal Cord Institute, Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7274-391X
Doo-Wan ChoDivision of Jeonbuk Advanced Bio Research, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Jeongeup, South Korea.
Jinpyo HongCenter for Glia-Neuron Interaction, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Hye Yeong LeeSpine and Spinal Cord Institute, Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2935-4975
Jung Moo LeeCenter for Memory and Glioscience, Institute for Basic Science, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
SunYeong ChoiCenter for Memory and Glioscience, Institute for Basic Science, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
In-Young HwangCenter for Memory and Glioscience, Institute for Basic Science, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4633-3658
Junsung WooCenter for Glia-Neuron Interaction, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jaekwang LeeCenter for Glia-Neuron Interaction, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, Republic of Korea.
MinGu ParkCenter for Memory and Glioscience, Institute for Basic Science, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Young-Su YangDivision of Jeonbuk Advanced Bio Research, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Jeongeup, South Korea.
Su-Cheol HanDivision of Jeonbuk Advanced Bio Research, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Jeongeup, South Korea.
Yoon HaSpine and Spinal Cord Institute, Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Hayoon@yuhs.ac.
C Justin LeeCenter for Memory and Glioscience, Institute for Basic Science, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. cjl@ibs.re.kr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3555-0980

Funding

Institute for Basic Science (IBS) IBS-R001-D2
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In spinal cord injury (SCI), the scar-forming reactive astrocytes with upregulated glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) proliferate aberrantly near the injury site, representing a potential cellular source for transdifferentiation into neurons to replenish dead neurons. However, the conventional use of GFAP promoter to target reactive astrocytes has two inherent problems: inadvertent conversion of normal astrocytes and low efficiency due to progressive weakening of promoter activity during transdifferentiation. Here, we present TRANsCre-DIONE, a dual-promoter split-Cre system combining GFAP and Lcn2 regulatory elements with Cre-dependent Neurog2 expression under the EF1α promoter, enabling selective targeting of scar-forming reactive astrocytes. This approach achieved 87% conversion efficiency and 96% specificity in vivo. After SCI, TRANsCre-DIONE caused transdifferentiation into Isl1-positive and ChAT-positive motor neurons, reduced astrogliosis, enhanced regeneration in surrounding cells, and a significant motor recovery. These findings suggest that TRANsCre-DIONE enables efficient and selective astrocyte-to-neuron conversion and represents a promising strategy for SCI repair.

Indexed as

AstrocytesCell TransdifferentiationMotor NeuronsSpinal Cord InjuriesAnimalsGlial Fibrillary Acidic ProteinIntegrasesMicePromoter Regions, GeneticCre recombinaseGlial Fibrillary Acidic ProteinIntegrases

Identifiers

PMID42722703
PMCPMC13633286

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.