Gene therapy increases life expectancy
The results of a number of studies have shown that changing the activity of certain genes can increase the life expectancy of representatives of many species, including mammals. However, until now, this has been possible only by irreversibly changing gene expression at the stage of embryonic development, which is not applicable to humans.
Scientists at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center, working under the leadership of Maria Blasco, have demonstrated that the lifespan of mice can be increased with the help of a therapeutic approach used in adulthood. They turned this idea into reality with the help of gene therapy, a strategy never before used to combat aging.
As part of the work, the authors injected one- and two-year-old mice, whose average life expectancy under normal conditions is about 3 years, with an adenoviral vector carrying the telomerase gene. This enzyme restores telomeres – the end sections of chromosomes that shorten with each cell division and, thus, limit the number of cell cycles released to it.
Gene therapy increased the life expectancy of young mice by an average of 24%, while for two-year-olds this figure was 13%. Moreover, it significantly improved the health of animals: delayed the appearance of symptoms of age-related diseases, including osteoporosis and insulin resistance, and improved indicators used to assess the degree of aging of the body, such as neuromuscular coordination.
Telomerase activation is a mechanism that ensures the immortality of malignant cells. However, concerns that anti-aging gene therapy may increase the risk of cancer have not been confirmed. The authors believe that this is due to its use in adulthood. Another factor that ensured the safety of therapy is the choice of non-replicating viral vectors derived from non-pathogenic human adenoviruses, which account for the successful use of hemophilia and eye diseases in gene therapy. At the same time, the authors note that, despite the effectiveness and safety of experimental therapy, it may never find application as a method of slowing human aging. However, it can turn into an approach to the treatment of diseases associated with the presence of abnormally short telomeres in the cells of certain tissues, such as, for example, in some cases of pulmonary fibrosis.
In any case, the next stage of the work should be testing the developed methodology on animals whose life expectancy significantly exceeds that of mice.
Article by Bruno Bernardes de Jesus et al. Telomerase gene therapy in adult and old mice delays aging and increases longevity without increasing cancer is published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas: Mouse Lifespan Extended Up to 24% With a Single Treatment.
16.05.2012