Getting older? Fret not because scientists have developed an ‘exciting’ new method to reverse ageing in human skin cells by up to 30 years. According to reports, the scientists claim that it is the longest ‘re-programming’ technique ever achieved.
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The researchers of the latest study, published in eLife, revealed how they were able to partly restore the function of older cells, while also renewing the biological age. During trials that simulated a skin wound, team of researchers found that the partially rejuvenated cells showed signs of behaving more like youthful cells. According to the experts at the Babraham Institute developed the first ‘maturation phase transient reprogramming’ (MTPR), where ‘reprogramming factors are expressed until this rejuvenation point followed by withdrawal of their induction’.
The authors wrote: “The magnitude of rejuvenation instigated by MTPR appears substantially greater than that achieved in previous transient reprogramming protocols. In addition, MPTR fibroblasts produced youthful levels of collagen proteins, and showed partial functional rejuvenation of their migration speed.”
Scientists believe that the findings could easily contribute in the progress of regenerative medicine, especially if the approach can be replicated in other cell types.
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Professor Wolf Reik, a group leader in the Epigenetics research programme who has recently moved to lead the Altos Labs Cambridge Institute, said: “This work has very exciting implications. Eventually, we may be able to identify genes that rejuvenate without reprogramming, and specifically target those to reduce the effects of ageing. This approach holds promise for valuable discoveries that could open up an amazing therapeutic horizon.”
Dr Diljeet Gill, a postdoctoral researcher in Prof Reik’s lab at the Babraham Institute – who conducted the work as a PhD student – added: “Our results represent a big step forward in our understanding of cell reprogramming. We have proved that cells can be rejuvenated without losing their function and that rejuvenation looks to restore some function to old cells. The fact that we also saw a reverse of ageing indicators in genes associated with diseases is particularly promising for the future of this work.”
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