Rewinding the clock: Reverse-Aging
Harvard Researcher shows promising results for anti-ageing genetics
We have been aging since ages. You see that it’s been there with us ever since.
You must have heard of what CRISPR genetics is, their capability to modify genes, producing genetically engineered humans. But we never imagined that if we treat our body well, we could have better health for a longer period.
In 2012, Dr Shinya Yamanaka won Noble Prize in Physiology or Medicine by proving Yamanaka factors were indeed a key to age reversal.
More on that later.
Researcher David Sinclair, professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School who also happens to be co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Centre for the Biology of Aging at Harvard Medical School has shown credible results for anti-aging and age reversal.
According to his blood test results, he has already knocked off about 2 decades from his age. As of now, he must be above 50 years old, but according to recent tests, his body age is only 31 years. During his research, he concluded that a compound named NMN, if taken in proper amounts with certain other supplements reduces the aging, at least in mice.
As we age, tiny blood vessels in our body die, unable to regenerate. These blood vessels are vital, providing fresh blood to organs and tissues. Failure of these tiny blood vessels results in multiple vascular ailments.
The chromosomes in the human body consist of telomeres, which are common to both parent and offspring cells. The earlier hypothesis suggested that the cells lose data when chromosomes reproduce. Because after reproduction, the size of telomeres decreases hence losing cell information. But after the interesting case of Dolly the sheep, the first successful genetic clone. The results turned out to be astonishing. There was no loss in data and the clone turned out to be exactly like the parent sheep, abolishing this hypothesis.
According to Dr Sinclair, another type of genetic material called epigenome could be responsible for aging. Epigenomes handle coiling up and working of DNA. According to this hypothesis, epigenome to a cell is what the brain is to a human being. It commands the cells to perform their proper functions. If the epigenome is missing, the cells get perplexed and might perform any random task, which usually happens while aging. Epigenome is so important that in its absence, a brain cell would start to behave as a skin cell.
Many chromosomes die every moment they need repairing. The repair process is very complex, as it involves DNA. DNA is not just sitting around in flares, but bundled properly. To repair a chromosome, the cell has to unwrap the DNA and recruit growth proteins into the cell body. These growth proteins help the cell repair the chromosomes. After the repair process is complete, the cells need to get back and reset themselves.
The resetting of the epigenome has a retention rate of about 99%, and the leftover 1% is what causes aging. With age epigenomes unravel, the parts of DNA which are not meant to be coiled, end up doing so. Effectively, our body starts to generate wrong cells in the wrong places. This is what usually happens to adults. Their cells are not able to behave in an ideal manner, hence their bodies start to deteriorate.
Research
Slowing Aging Process
The first test was the opposite of the desired results. When researchers at Harvard devised the genetics of aging, they set out to experiment with them.
The experiment involved twin rats, treating one of them with chromosome therapy. This therapy involved breaking up of chromosomes and not causing any mutations. If the epigenomic study is correct, then the mice should grow old.
The observed results were all right in place. The treated mice grew grey hair, a hunchback, and particularly well-aged organs. The tests further confirmed that the test mice was indeed 50% older.
If the hypothesis around epigenomes is correct, then we can trick our bodies to trigger the longevity genes to maintain a healthy and longer lifespan. These longevity genes help cells to maintain epigenetic information, helping cells not to forget their intended purpose.
To test out the credibility of NMN, researchers chose another set of mice. Treating one of them with NMN and the other a control set. This experiment resulted in a bit of an incident.
The mice were set to run on a special treadmill. Both of them ran for some time, and then something strange happened. The mouse treated with NMN was so energetic that it damaged the software. They had never witnessed an old mouse run for so long ever before. If this study proves to be beneficial to humans, then this achievement is like having a 70-year-old outrun other 20-years-olds. Remarkable isn’t it..
This was all possible because NAD+ and SIRT1 are some of the compounds found in our DNA cells. These compounds are responsible for the synthesis of growth-promoting proteins. With time NAD+ and SIRT1 concentrations tend to fall in our cells, leading to the communication gap between growth-promoting proteins and the cells which require them. NMN is a chemical compound found to boost NAD+ and SIRT1 levels, which in turn helps the blood vessel and muscle cells to grow and regenerate, resulting in better blood supply to the muscles.
Reversing the clock
It’s been a lot about slowing it down now let’s dive into the reversal of aging. Dr Yamanaka’s Noble Prize-winning research consisted of 4 genes that could turn a fully grown adult cell into pluripotent cells. The state when the cells were still embryonic stem cells.
With the ability to differentiate into virtually all types of cells and to grow robustly like ES cells, iPS cells have enormous potential for pharmaceutical and clinical applications. Thousands of chemicals and natural products can be tested on such cells, some of which we hope will become new effective medicines for intractable diseases. — Shinya Yamanaka
Our body will turn into a giant tumour if we apply Dr Yamanaka’s research as it is. But it shows a way to reset the epigenome. That could potentially be the key to reversing the aging process.
Dr Sinclair’s research has been successful in reversing the age of the eye of a mouse. According to him, the eye is the most complex organ, and if we can repair the eye, we can apply it anywhere. They took some old mice with loss of vision due to age and treated their epigenomes to return to a younger age. The beauty of this process is that we can turn it on and off when required. This research brought back their vision.
We have to be very careful not to reset the fully grown cells back to stem cells. Otherwise, we will turn our organs into giant tumours. We used three genes from the noble prize-winning therapy, and these seemed to work just fine. We can turn this system on and then off so that we do not take them too far in age. — David Sinclair
This research is very encouraging, but resetting every cell in our body would be a very challenging task.
Here is where Moon Jellyfish steps in, they can reset any cell in their bodies at any point of time. They can even turn back into a polyp(embryonic stage). It is evident that the jellyfish can reset their epigenomes to a point back in their lives. This property of resetting is present in humans as well, but only when we are an embryo and need to multiply our stem cells. All mammals, including humans, tend to lose stem cells as they age. The stem cells which we have become restrictive over time to the number of cells they can produce.
This research has been a huge step forward in genetics. Even if we can produce such promising results in mice, it is a great achievement. According to Dr Sinclair, if the research is successful in human cells, then we will be able to cure glaucoma, broken spines, and even bring back eyesight for the elderly.
The resetting of a human body might be a distant reality, but ongoing research work provides a ray of hope, a pathway on which we may find a way to reset the whole human body.
