In Germany, cells from an 80-year-old person rejuvenated to under 20 years of age — RMF24
Scientists at the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn in Germany reprogrammed blood cells obtained from an 80-year-old person into neural stem cells. According to the researchers’ assessment, their molecular age was below 20 years. RMF24 reports on the results of the work, published in the journal Aging Cell.
Reprogramming without an intermediate stage
The researchers worked with erythrocyte precursor cells and converted them directly into neural stem cells, from which neurons can subsequently be obtained. Previously, a two-stage approach was usually used to obtain neural cells from blood cells: first, they were converted into pluripotent stem cells and then stimulated to develop into neural cells.
Professor Oliver Brüstle of the University Hospital Bonn explained that direct reprogramming made it possible to observe the gradual rejuvenation of cells over more than 100 days. According to him, this distinguishes the method from previous approaches, in which rejuvenation occurred too quickly to monitor the process in detail.
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How molecular age was determined
To assess the changes, the study authors used epigenetic molecular clocks. They take into account age-related changes in DNA that concern not the genetic information itself, but the activity of its reading by the cell. According to the scientists, during the reprogramming process these indicators were gradually reset over several weeks.
The rejuvenated cells not only had a lower molecular age, but also behaved like young cells. The researchers believe that long-term observation of this process creates an experimental model for studying factors and active substances capable of accelerating or slowing cellular rejuvenation. The method may also be useful for research into neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, for which age is the main risk factor.
Read more in RMF24.
