“New paper first to show that gene therapy-mediated partial reprogramming extends lifespan and reverses age-related changes in aged wild mice.
Longevity biotech Rejuvenate Bio has made new progress towards showing that gene therapy-mediated partial reprogramming can potentially combat age-related diseases and extend lifespan. The San Diego-based company company claims that its paper, published this week in the journal Cellular Reprogramming, is the first to demonstrate that epigenetic reprogramming can extend overall lifespan in normal, aged mice, rather than the genetically modified mice used in other studies.
Cellular reprogramming using transcription factors has emerged as a key strategy for the rejuvenation of aging cells – erasing markers of cell damage and restoring epigenetic markers. These transcription factors, also known as Yamanaka factors, can be used to convert cells into pluripotent stem cells which can divide into any cell type of the body. Rejuvenate Bio’s approach involves partial reprogramming using some of the Yamanaka factors, known as OSK (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4), to reverse age-related changes.
In the study, adeno-associated viruses encoding the reprogramming factors were systemically delivered to 124-week-old male “wild-type” mice (equivalent to approximately 77 human years). The results showed a 109% increase in median remaining lifespan compared with wild-type controls, accompanied by improvements in various health parameters. Notably, frailty scores indicated significant enhancements, suggesting an improved healthspan in the treated mice…”
