Longevity Briefs: A Possible Target To Reverse Cellular Ageing?

Longevity briefs provides a short summary of novel research in biology, medicine, or biotechnology that caught the attention of our researchers in Oxford, due to its potential to improve our health, wellbeing, and longevity.

Why is this research important: A pluripotent cell is a form of stem cell capable of giving rise to multiple different cell types. When we ‘reprogram’ cells to express pluripotency markers, this can also reverse aspects of cellular ageing. The mechanisms by which this occurs are currently not well understood.

What did the researchers do: In this study, researchers reprogrammed human mesenchymal stem cells into pluripotent stem cells, then back to mesenchymal stem cells. They then compared age related activity and protein expression in reprogrammed and untreated cells.

Key takeaway(s) from this research: Consistent with previous studies, cell ageing appeared to be reversed in reprogrammed cells. The expression of GATA6, an important protein for gut, lung, and heart development, was reduced in reprogrammed cells compared with the control cells. This led to increased activity of two other proteins involved in development: sonic hedgehog and FOXP1. The authors suggest that this pathway is a mechanism that controls the reversal of cell ageing, and could provide pharmacological targets for regenerative medicine

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