Scientists in the US have reversed aging in mice and want to do the same in humans

A “revolution” in the scientific community brings the achievement of the molecular biologist at Harvard Medical School, David Sinclair, as in his laboratory the aged mice become new again!

According to CNN, utilizing proteins that can turn an adult cell into a stem cell, Sinclair and his team restored old cells in mice to their older versions.

In the first phase of his team’s study, published in late 2020, elderly mice with poor eyesight and damaged retinas were able to see again and in some cases see better than their offspring.

«It is a permanent reset and we can think that it can be a global process with possible application throughout our body in order to reprogram our age. “says Sinclair, who for the past 20 years has been studying ways to reverse the damage caused by time.

«If we succeed, these diseases should not exist. Today we have the technology that will allow us to reach one hundred without worrying about getting cancer in our 70s, heart disease in our 80s and Alzheimer in our 90s“, Continued the scientist speaking at a conference on longevity and well-being in collaboration with CNNi.

For Sinclair, the question is not whether this will be possible, but when, estimating that many people among us will be able to experience it.

Although modern medicine treats diseases, it does not address the underlying cause, “which for most diseases is aging itself,” according to Sinclair. «We know that when we reverse the age of an organ like the brain of a mouse, the diseases of old age disappear. Memories return, there is no more boredom. I believe that in the future, delaying and reversing aging will be the best way to deal with the diseases that most of us suffer from.».

In Sinclair’s lab, two mice are placed side by side. One is the image of youth, the other is gray and weak. However, they are siblings, born of the same offspring – only one has been genetically modified to age faster.

If that’s possible, Sinclair and his team wonder, could not the other way around? The Japanese biomedical researcher Dr. Sinia Yamanaka has previously reprogrammed the cells of human adult skin to behave like embryonic or pluripotent stem cells, capable of growing into any cell in the body.

His discovery in 2007 gave the scientist the Nobel Prize and the “induced pluripotent stem cells“Soon became known to him as” Yamanaka agents “.

However, adult cells that have fully recovered as stem cells through Yamanaka agents lose their identity. They forget that they are blood, heart and skin cells, making them perfect for regeneration as “cell du jourBut not as refreshed.

Laboratories around the world have dealt with the problem. A study published in 2016 by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, showed that the signs of aging could be eliminated in genetically aged mice, which were briefly exposed to four major Yamanaka factors without being deleted. the identity of the cells.

However, the following pathogenesis was observed throughout the study: In some cases, the mice developed cancerous tumors.

Looking for a safer alternative, the laboratory geneticist Sinclair Yuancheng Lu selected three of the four factors and genetically added them to a harmless virus. The virus was designed to deliver Yamanaka rejuvenating agents to damaged retinal ganglion cells in the eye of an elderly mouse. After the virus was injected into the eye, the multiplicative genes were then activated by giving the mouse an antibiotic.

«The antibiotic is just a tool. “It could be any chemical, just a way to make sure all three genes are activated,” Sinclair said. “Normally they are activated only in very young developing embryos and then they fade away as we age».

Remarkably, the damaged neurons in the eyes of the injected mice were rejuvenated.

From that initial study, Sinclair said his lab has reversed aging in mice ‘s muscles and brains and is now working to rejuvenate a mouse’ s entire body.

«We believe that we are utilizing an ancient regeneration system used by some animals – when you cut off the tip of a salamander, a new tip sprouts again. The tail of a fish will grow again, the finger of a mouse will grow again».

The discovery shows that there is a “backup” of youthful information stored in the body, he added.

While the changes in mice have been going on for months, the renewed cells do not freeze over time and never age (as does vampires or superheroes), says Sinclair. “It’s as permanent as aging. It’s a reset and then we see the mice age again, so we just repeat the process.

Studies on whether the genetic intervention that revived mice will work the same in humans are in the early stages, says Sinclair. It will take years for human trials to be completed, analyzed and, if safe and successful, scaled to the extent required for general approval.

“While we wait for science to determine if we can reverse our genes, there are many other ways to slow down the aging process and restore our biological clocks,” Sinclair said.

«The best tips are simple: Prefer plants for your food, eat less often, get enough sleep, exercise for 10 minutes three times a week until you catch your breath to maintain your muscle mass, do not sweat little things and have a good social group», The scientist recommends.

All of these behaviors affect our epigenome, the proteins and chemicals that sit like freckles on each gene, waiting for the gene to say “what to do, where to do it and when to do it“, According to the National Institute of Human Genome Research. The epigenome literally activates and deactivates the genes.

In any case, one’s human behavior and environment play a key role. Suppose you were born with a genetic predisposition to heart disease and diabetes. But because you exercised, ate a plant-based diet, slept well, and managed your stress for most of your life, it is possible that these genes will never be activated. In this way, experts say, we can take part of our genetic destiny in our own hands.

The positive impact of plant-based diets, close love relationships and adequate exercise and sleep on our health is well documented. Calorie restriction, however, is a more controversial way to add years to your life, experts say, as many studies in humans focus on weight loss instead of longevity.

For Sinclair himself, however, cutting meals was an important factor in restoring the biological clock staff. Recent tests show that although he is 53 years old, his biological age is only 42. “I have been doing biological tests for the last 10 years and in the last decade I have become steadily younger,” he says proudly. “The biggest change in my biological clock came when I started eating less often – now I only eat one meal a day. That made the biggest difference in my biochemistry. “

In his book Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Do Not Have It, Sinclair writes, however, that few of the things he does in his life have undergone the “rigorous long-term clinical trials” required to have a “full understanding of it.” a wide range of possible outcomes “. In fact, he added: “I have no idea if this is right even for me.”

With this asterisk, Sinclair is willing to share his advice,

He keeps his starches and sugars to a minimum and has been eating dessert since he was 40 (although he admits he occasionally makes irregularities). He eats adequate amounts of vegetables, avoids eating other mammals and keeps his body weight as low as possible.

He exercises by taking many steps every day, walks upstairs instead of taking the elevator and visits the gym with his son to lift weights and jog before taking a sauna and bath with cold water.

«I have recovered the body of my 20-year-old selfHe says with a smile.

Sinclair also takes daily vitamins D and K2 and baby aspirin, along with supplements that have shown promising extension of longevity to yeast, mice and human cells in test tubes.

One supplement he takes after discovering its benefits is 1 gram of resveratrol, the antioxidant found in the skin of grapes, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries and peanuts.

It also takes one gram of metformin, a key ingredient in the arsenal of medicines used to lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. He added that studies have shown that it can reduce inflammation, oxidative damage and cellular aging, in which cells are destroyed but refuse to die, remaining in the body as a kind of dysfunctional “zombie cell ».

However, some scientists disagree about the use of metformin, pointing out rare cases of lactic acid accumulation and lack of knowledge about how it works in the body.

Sinclair also takes one gram of NMN, or nicotinamide mononucleotide, which in the body is converted to NAD + or adenine nicotinamide dinucleotide. A coenzyme present in all living cells, NAD + plays a central role in the body’s biological processes, such as regulating cellular energy, increasing insulin sensitivity, and reversing mitochondrial dysfunction.

As the body ages, NAD + levels fall significantly, dropping from middle age to about half of youth levels, contributing to age-related diseases and neurodegenerative disorders.

Numerous studies have shown that restoring NAD + levels safely improves overall health and increases life expectancy in yeasts, mice and dogs. Similar clinical trials in humans have been underway for three years, says Sinclair.

«Real progress, in my view, is the ability to simply say to our body, “Forget all that. Just be young again,” by simply turning a switch.Says Sinclair and clarifies.

«I am not saying that we will all be 20 years old again. But I’m optimistic that we can replicate this very fundamental process that happens to all species, to a bat, to a sheep, to a whale, and to a human. We did it in mice. I can not think why not work on a man».