BEIJING (Reuters) – Scientists in Beijing have developed a new gene therapy that can reverse some of the effects of aging in mice and prolong their lifespan, findings that could one day contribute to similar treatment for humans.
The method, outlined earlier this month in a paper in the journal Science Translational Medicine, involves the inactivation of a gene called cat7, which scientists say is a major contributor to the aging of cellular drugs.
The specific therapy they use and the results were a global first, said co-supervisor for the project Professor Qu Jing (40), a specialist in aging and regenerative medicine from the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences ( CAS).
“These mice show an overall improved appearance and grip strength after 6-8 months, and most importantly, they have a long lifespan of about 25%,” Qu said.
The team of biologists from different CAS divisions used the CRISPR / Cas9 method to examine thousands of genes for those who were particularly strong drivers of cellular aging, the term used to describe cellular aging.
They identified 100 genes out of about 10,000, and cat7 was the most effective contribution to aging in cells, Qu said.
Cat7 is one of tens of thousands of genes found in mammalian cells. The researchers inactivated it in the livers of the mice using a method called a lentiviral vector.
‘We have just tested the function of the gene in different types of cell types, in the human stem cell, the mesenchymal stem cells, in the human liver cell and the mouse liver cell, and for all these cells we have no detectable cellular toxicity. And for the mice, we also have not seen any side effect. ”
Nevertheless, the method is far from ready for human trials, Qu said.
“It is still absolutely necessary to test the function of cat7 in other cell types of humans and other organs of mice and in the other preclinical animals before we use the strategy for human aging or other health conditions,” she said.
Qu said he hopes to be able to test the method on primates next, but that it will require a lot of money and a lot more research first.
“Ultimately, we hope we can find a way to slow down aging even by a very small percentage … in the future.”
Reporting by Martin Quin Pollard; Edited by Kim Coghill