According to a startup, cellular reprogramming extends the life span of mice.
The cellular reprogramming technique is based on the Nobel Prize winning work of Shinya Yamanaka. He showed that adult stem cells can be converted back to adult cells by exposing these cells to a set of genome-regulating transcription factors. Salk’s team innovated by reducing the exposure time to so-called Yamanaka factor, which could reverse epigenetic modifications to the cells but not revert them to stem cells.
The fact that the method has not been replicated in healthy mice in the past, despite the clear increase in longevity in prematurely aged mice, raised doubts. \”Different group have tried this test, and so far the results have not been positive,\” Alejandro Ocampo from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, who conducted the original Salk experiment, told MIT Technology Review.
Rejuvenate Bio now claims that healthy mice exposed to a subset Yamanaka factors nearing the end of life lived an average of 18 additional weeks, compared with just 9 weeks in the case of those who did not undergo cellular reprograming.
Source:
Cellular Reprogramming Extends Lifespan in Mice, Longevity Startup Says
