Abstract 18205: Direct Reprogramming of Human Dermal Fibroblasts into Endothelial Cells Using a Single Transcription Factor

Background: Endothelial cells (ECs) are a key element of vasculature and are indispensable for repairing injured or ischemic tissues. Thus, generation of functional ECs has been central to regenerative medicine. Direct conversion or reprogramming of postnatal cells to desired cell types using transcription factors (TFs) has gained attention due to its advantages over stem cells, as it can avoid differentiation processes and tumorigenic potential associated with stem cells. To date, no studies showed direct reprogramming of human postnatal cells into ECs. Here, we sought to investigate whether EC-related TFs can reprogram human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) into ECs. Methods and Results: We generated lentiviral vectors for seven EC-related TFs (ETV2, FOXC2, MEF2C, SOX17/SOX18, SMAD1, HEY1/HEY2, and NANOG). We then used various combinations of these seven TFs to transduce HDFs and found that ETV2 alone was best to reprogram fibroblasts into endothelial cells. Accordingly, data is shown for only ETV2 transduced ...