The dream of eternal life or the elixir of eternal youth seems a little more real thanks to new research on cell reprogramming. A team of scientists from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California (USA) led by the Spanish researcher Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte, has managed to increase the lifespan of live mice by 30%. A milestone in this area because until now rodents had ended up dead or developing tumors.
The scientists used mice with Progeria, a genetic disease that causes premature aging, to increase their life expectancy from 18 weeks to 24, which represents 30% more life. This milestone has been achieved thanks to the reprogramming of chemical marks in the genome (epigenetic marks that control the expression of genes).
“We have not corrected the mutation that causes premature aging in these mice. We alter aging by changing the epigenome, which indicates that it is a flexible process ”, explains Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte, leader of the work.
Cell reprogramming turns an adult cell into an induced pluripotent cell that has a high proliferation rate and is not yet specialized to perform specific functions. This reprogramming involves inducing the expression of four factors, known as Yamanaka factors, in these cells. Using partial reprogramming, which induced the expression of Yamanaka factors for only 2 to 4 days (instead of 2 to 3 weeks), the cells do not reach pluripotency and continue to maintain their previous specificity, so they are able to divide indefinitely to transform into any type of cell and thus reverse the signs of aging.
The rodents treated with this procedure appeared younger, their cardiovascular function had improved, and their life expectancy increased by 30% compared to the untreated mice or the control group .
Can we replicate it in humans ?: “We are developing strategies to induce cell rejuvenation through reprogramming using chemical compounds. Compared with reprogramming factors, these new methods will be easier to apply in the clinic and therefore be used in humans ”, Izpisúa Belmonte clarifies.
The study has been published in the journal Cell.
