Cellular Rejuvenation Therapy Safely Reverses Signs of Aging in Mice
Published:07 Mar.2022 Source:Salk Institute
“We are elated that we can use this approach across the life span to slow down aging in normal animals. The technique is both safe and effective in mice,” says Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, co-corresponding author and a professor in Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory. “In addition to tackling age-related diseases, this approach may provide the biomedical community with a new tool to restore tissue and organismal health by improving cell function and resilience in different disease situations, such as neurodegenerative diseases.”
As organisms age, it is not just their outward appearances and health that change; every cell in their bodies carries a molecular clock that records the passage of time. Cells isolated from older people or animals have different patterns of chemicals along their DNA -- called epigenetic markers -- compared to younger people or animals. Scientists know that adding a mixture of four reprogramming molecules -- Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and cMyc, also known as “Yamanaka factors” -- to cells can reset these epigenetic marks to their original patterns. This approach is how researchers can dial back adult cells, developmentally speaking, into stem cells.