The newest scientific method that reverses the aging process may be the closest to the mythical fountain of youth. Scientists from the Babraham Institute managed to reset human skin cells by 30 years in terms of molecular measurements without losing their specialized function.
Moreover, researchers at the Epigenetics research program at the Institute were able to partly restore the function of older cells and rejuvenate molecular measures of biological age. While it is still at an early stage, researchers believe that the novel aging reversing scientific method could revolutionize regenerative medicine.
Reprogramming Human Skin Cells to Make Them Younger
Aging can cause cells to gradually lose their function while also gaining marks of maturity. With regenerative medicine, scientists aim to repair or replace cells through induced stem cells. The process involves a lot of steps that erase some of the marks that cells specialized in.
The process in the new method is based on the Nobel-Prize winning work of Shinya Yamanaka in 2007, wherein normal cells with a certain function were converted into stem cells that can develop into any type. However, this process entirely erases the identity of the cell.
Nonetheless, it also allowed researchers to look for the exact balance between reprogramming cells and still being able to regain their specialized cell function.
Study lead author biologist Diljeet Gill from the Babraham Institute said in a news release that Yamanaka's research advanced the understanding of aging on a molecular level that gave rise to techniques over the years that enable scientists to measure age-related biological changes in human cells.
Dubbed the 'maturation phase transient reprogramming', Science Alert reported that the new method works more quickly, which only takes 13 days instead of 50 days in the Yamanaka team's experiment, and stops before reaching the stem cell state.
The team exposed cells for almost two weeks to the four key molecules called Yamanaka factors. At this point, age-related changes are removed while cells also temporarily lose their identity.
Partially reprogrammed cells are then given time to grow under normal conditions. Genetic analysis showed that the cells regained markers of fibroblasts as confirmed by the collagen they produced, which is more than the control skin cells that had not undergone the reprogramming process. Collagen is a key function of skin cells because they are useful for structuring tissue and healing wounds.
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Time Jump Human Skin Cells by 30 Years
Researchers also looked for changes in the hallmarks of aging to show that these cells have been rejuvenated, according to the news release.
The first measure is the epigenetic clock where chemical tags indicate age and the second measure is the transcriptome or the gene readout produced by the cell. Researchers found that by these two measures, the reprogrammed cells matched the cells that were 30 years younger compared to reference data sets.
The potential application of the novel technique does not limit it to looking younger but also to functioning like young cells, New Scientist reported. The rejuvenated fibroblasts move faster into areas that need repairing, such as wounds, and heal them quickly than older cells.
The team hopes that the technique could one day be used in treating skin conditions, like ulcers and burns, and benefit Alzheimer's disease. The new method is described in full in the study, titled "Multi-Omic Rejuvenation of Human Cells by Maturation Phase Transient Reprogramming" published in eLiife.
RELATED ARTICLE: Cellular 'Rejuvenation' Technique: Reversing Aging Process in Mice Successful, Will It Work with Humans, Too?
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