Induced neuronal cells: how to make and define a neuron

Abstract

Cellular plasticity is a major focus of investigation in developmental biology. The recent discovery that induced neuronal (iN) cells can be generated from mouse and human fibroblasts by expression of defined transcription factors suggested that cell fate plasticity is much wider than previously anticipated. In this review, we summarize the most recent developments in this nascent field and suggest criteria to help define and categorize iN cells that take into account the complexity of neuronal identity.