Nat Aging: Cell regeneration therapy can safely reverse aging in mice

March 8, 2022 / Bio Valley BIOON / --- Age may be just a number, but that number often brings unwanted side effects, from osteoporosis and muscle weakness to cardiovascular disease and cancer risk increase

"We are delighted that we can use this approach to slow aging in normal animals throughout the lifespan," said co-corresponding author Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte of the Gene Expression Laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies

As organisms age, it's not just their physical appearance and health that changes; every cell in their bodies carries a molecular clock that records the passage of time

Expression of reprogramming factors in tissues

In 2016, Izpisua Belmonte's lab first reported that they could use Yamanaka factor to fight the signs of aging and increase the lifespan of mice with progeria

In the new study, Izpisua Belmonte and colleagues tested an improved version of this cellular regeneration method during aging in healthy animals

"What we really wanted to make sure was that it was safe to use this method over a longer time span," said Pradeep Reddy, co-first author of the paper and a Salk Research Fellow

Mice that received Yamanaka factor showed no changes in blood cells or changes in the nervous system compared with control mice

When the authors looked at the normal signs of aging in the Yamanaka factor-treated mice, they found that they resembled young mice in many ways

The authors observed this rejuvenation in mice treated with Yamanaka factor for 7 or 10 months, but not in mice treated with Yamanaka factor for only one month

The authors are now planning future studies to analyze how specific molecules and genes are altered by long-term processing of Yamanaka factors

"Ultimately, we want to restore elasticity and function to old cells, making them more resistant to stress, injury and disease," Reddy said.

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