A recent research shows that scientists have 30 years of human skin cell
aging reversed.
Scientists claim to have created a technique that can time jump human skin
cells by three decades, which is longer than previous reprogramming
techniques and stops the aging process without the cells' functionality
being lost.
Researchers claim to be able to renew the biological age and partially
restore the function of aged cells.
The study found that the partly rejuvenated cells shown symptoms of acting
more like youthful cells in studies that mimicked a skin lesion.
Although the research is still in its early stages, experts believe it has
the potential to revolutionize regenerative medicine, particularly if it can
be duplicated in other cell types.
A group leader in the Epigenetics research program who just became
leadership of the Altos Labs Cambridge Institute, Professor Wolf Reik,
stated: "The ramifications of this discovery are fascinating.
"The ability to directly target genes that regenerate without reprogramming
to lessen the consequences of aging may one day be possible.
"This strategy shows promise for significant discoveries that may widen the
scope of possible treatments."
As a PhD candidate, Dr. Diljeet Gill worked as a postdoctoral researcher in
Prof. Reik's group at the Babraham Institute "Our findings advance our
knowledge of cell reprogramming significantly.
"We have established that it is possible to renew cells while maintaining
their functionality and that rejuvenation aims to partially restore the
function of aging cells.
"It is particularly encouraging for the future of this study since we also
saw a reversal of ageing signs in genes related with illnesses."
The capacity of a person's cells to operate reduces with age, and the
genome — the DNA code — shows signs of aging.
Cells of all ages are targeted for repair or replacement in regenerative
biology.
Our capacity to produce "induced" stem cells is one of the most crucial
tools in regenerative biology.
The cells are effectively stripped of their purpose during this phase,
giving them the ability to develop into any form of cell.
By pausing reprogramming half way through, the new procedure, which is
based on the Nobel Prize-winning technology used to create stem cells,
solves the issue of totally deleting cell identity.
This made it possible for scientists to strike the ideal balance between
reprogramming cells to make them biologically younger and preserving their
ability to perform their specific cell function.
They claim that the cells must behave like youthful cells in order for this
approach to have any potential uses.
According to experts, future study might lead to the development of other
treatment options.
They noticed that additional genes connected to age-related illnesses and
symptoms, such as the APBA2 gene linked to Alzheimer's disease and the MAF
gene linked to cataract formation, were also affected by their
strategy.
The study has been released in the journal eLife.
