bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/261438; this version posted February 7, 2018. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. Reversing Glial Scar Back To Neural Tissue Through NeuroD1-Mediated Astrocyte-To-Neuron Conversion Lei Zhang1, Zhuofan Lei1, Ziyuan Guo1, Zifei Pei1, Yuchen Chen1, Fengyu Zhang1, Alice Cai1, Yung Kin Mok1, Grace Lee1, Vishal Swaminnathan1, Fan Wang1, Yuting Bai1, Gong Chen1,* 1. Department of Biology, Huck Institute of Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Keywords: glial scar, NeuroD1, stab injury, in vivo conversion, glia to neuron ratio, brain repair * Correspondence should be addressed to: Gong Chen, Ph.D. Professor and Verne M. Willaman Chair in Life Sciences Department of Biology, Huck Institute of Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Email:
[email protected] Phone: 814-865-2488 Website: http://bio.psu.edu/directory/guc2 1 bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/261438; this version posted February 7, 2018. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. ABSTRACT Nerve injury often causes neuronal loss and glial proliferation, disrupting the delicate balance between neurons and glial cells in the brain. Recently, we have developed an innovative technology to convert internal reactive glial cells into functional neurons inside the mouse brain. Here, we further demonstrate that such glia-to-neuron conversion can rebalance neuron-glia ratio and reverse glial scar back to neural tissue.