BEIJING – Beijing scientists have developed a new gene therapy that can reverse some of the effects of aging in mice and extend its shelf life, findings that may one day contribute to a similar treatment for humans.
The method, detailed in the journal Science Translational Medicine earlier this month, involves inactivating a gene called kat7, which scientists found to be a key factor for cellular aging.
The specific therapy they used and the results were a world first, said project co-director Professor Qu Jing, 40, a specialist in aging and regenerative medicine from the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. (CAS).
“These mice show up after 6 to 8 months in general improving their appearance and grip strength and, most importantly, they have extended their shelf life by about 25%,” Qu said.
The team of biologists from different CAS departments used the CRISPR / Cas9 method to screen thousands of genes for which they were particularly strong drivers of cell senescence, the term used to describe cellular aging.
They identified 100 genes of about 10,000 and kat7 was the most efficient at contributing to senescence in cells, Qu said.
Kat7 is one of tens of thousands of genes found in mammalian cells. The researchers inactivated it in the liver of mice using a method called the lentiviral vector.
“We have just tested the function of the gene in different cell types, in the human stem cell, in the mesenchymal progenitor cells, in the human liver cell and in the mouse liver cell, and for in all these cells we saw no detectable cell toxicity. And for the mice, we didn’t see any side effects either. “
Despite this, the method is far from ready for human testing, Qu said.
“It is definitely necessary to test the function of kat7 in other types of human cells and other mouse organs and in other preclinical animals before using the strategy for human aging or other health conditions,” he said.
Qu said he hopes to be able to test the method with primates below, but it would require first funding and much more research.
“In the end, we hope we can find a way to delay aging even with a very small percentage … in the future.”