Science manages to rejuvenate the skin cells of a 53-year-old woman by 30 years.
Researchers have developed a method that can turn back the biological clock of the skin cells in 30 years. Creating stem cells from mature ones, which could be used to treat skin conditions in the future.
Science has devised a technique to rejuvenate skin cells without losing their previous functionality
In 2007, Shinya Yamanaka of the Kyoto Universityin Japan, developed a technique that could transform adult skin cells in stem cells. This, through the insertion of four specialized molecules, called “Yamanaka factors”which reverse cell development.
It takes about 50 days of exposure to these molecules for normal cells to reprogram themselves into what are known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
“When you convert a cell to iPSC, you lose the original cell type and functionality,” says Diljeet Gill of the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, UK.
Gill and his colleagues have now devised a technique which uses Yamanaka factors to rejuvenate skin cells without losing their previous functionality.
The researchers collected skin cell samples from three human donors They had an average age of around 50 years. They were then exposed to Yamanaka factors for just 13 days to partially reduce cell aging. They then removed the Yamanaka factors and let the cells grow.
As we age, our DNA becomes tagged with chemicals. So tracking these markers can help us determine the age of our bodies. This is known as our epigenetic clock. Over time, some of our genes will be turned on or off, the set of which is known as the transcriptome.
Science or fiction? The rejuvenated cells also functioned like the younger ones
Gill and his team found that the epigenetic clock and the transcriptome profiles of the partially reprogrammed cells matched the profiles of skin cells belonging to people 30 years younger.
The rejuvenated cells also performed like the youngest, creating more collagen than those who did not undergo rescheduling. And when placed on an artificial wound, the reprogrammed cells moved to close the gap much faster than the previous ones.
“In young people, if you cut yourself, the wound will heal faster, whereas it would take longer for me to heal,” says team member Wolf Reik, also from the Babraham Institute. “It’s very exciting, not only the molecular readouts that are younger, but the cell also functions more like young cells.”
The key advance in this study is that we can now rejuvenate cells substantially without changing their identity or functionality, says Reik. “In previous studies, you would end up with a stem cell, which is not what you would want for therapy.”
The technique may one day be useful in treating skin conditionssuch as burns and ulcers. There’s also the added bonus that an individual’s body wouldn’t reject the cells, because they would be their own cells, says Gill.
“Until now, we have only tested this technique on skin cells. We’re excited to see if we can translate it to other cell types,” says Gill.
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