A young skin forever, as in the story of Dorian Gray. To shift the biological clock of the cells back, bringing them back in time, but without completely distorting them. A group of British researchers from the Babraham Institute at Cambridge University succeeded in doing this on cells of the epidermis, thanks to a new method. A technique based on the studies that gave the Japanese scientist the Nobel Prize Shinya Yamanaka.
The Cambridge team achieved two results: on the one hand, it rejuvenated the cells, transforming them into particular stem cells, and at the same time managed to preserve their functionality, without completely affecting their identity – as is generally the case. The results, although promising, are still at a very early stage. The hypothesis of scientists is that in the future the new method, described in detail in the journal eLifecan be used to study new therapeutic strategies against aging-related diseases.
Go back in time
In 2006, Yamanaka collected adult mouse cells and, by inserting a handful of genes, returned them – or rather transformed them – into stem cells that resemble cells from an embryo.
In 2007, he completed the experiment successfully: the cells were taken back in time and reprogrammed to become “pluripotent”. Therefore, they are able to become “other”, since they can all the tissues of the organism to which they belong – with various potentialities in the field of regenerative medicine, currently under study (with some favorable results already).
Royal family, the secret of longevity
by Enrico Franceschini
The study area in which British scientists work today is this. Their new method, however, stops a little earlier: it intends to make the cells young again, but at the same time it does not want to completely eliminate the characteristics at the basis of their functioning, which ensure that those are just skin cells and nothing else. To accomplish this, the scientists blocked part of the cell reprogramming process developed by Yamanaka. It’s a bit like taking an older person and making them travel back in time, but not too far, in order to bring them back to a moment in their life when their personality was already defined enough.
Cells younger than 30 years
The team proved they were successful by carrying out complex tests based on specific RNA analyzes and examining some chemical markers of the epigenetic clock. These markers are like physiological signatures that provide “demographic” evidence of cell age. The measurements reveal that the cells have been rejuvenated for 30 years and have regained some of their distinctive characteristics. The product obtained is in fact composed of fibroblasts, cells of connective tissues present for example in the dermis, the intermediate layer of the skin.
How to build our health? We pay attention to what we eat and what we do: 12 rules to follow
by Luigi Fontana
New therapeutic horizons
Potential applications therefore concern not only tissue rejuvenation but also the maintenance of their specific functionality. In general, fibroblasts produce collagen, a molecule found in bones, skin and ligaments that helps regenerate tissue and repair wounds. The authors have shown that rejuvenated fibroblasts are also more efficient, so they may also be efficient in performing these operations.
But that’s not all: from the genetic analyzes, the researchers realized that their method also has some effect on some genes linked to diseases of aging. For example, they observed some changes in the APBA2 gene, also associated with Alzheimer’s, and in MAF, which is involved in cataracts. These data are promising, but the mechanisms behind the new reprogramming method are yet to be elucidated. It will take some time, perhaps even a long time, but according to the authors the new path of research could open a “surprising therapeutic horizon”.
Do we have a good life? A test measures it
by Tina Simoniello
