We May Have Been Wrong About the Aging Process

Could we be on the verge of extending human life?
Credit: Burst

Humans have had many theories about the aging process and what causes our cells to deteriorate. Theories range from oxidative stress, to protein buildup, to the shortening of our telomeres (structures required for cell division). But several recent studies on mice are telling a different story.

Recent Groundbreaking Studies on the Aging Process

Ten years ago, Kyoto University biologist Shinya Yamanaka won a Nobel Prize after discovering a cocktail of proteins that could turn normal adult cells into versatile, “pluripotent” cells. These cells are called the “Yamanaka Factors,” and researchers believe they can help reverse the aging process.

San Diego–based company Rejuvenate Bio started injecting these Yamanaka Factors into elderly mice and the results have been promising. The injected mice added an average of 18 weeks to their lifespan (elderly mice are only about 124 weeks old).

Biologist Steven Austad of the University of Alabama told the journal Science:

“I would say it is provocative — possibly a breakthrough. But it will need to be replicated and the mechanism explored before we can say for sure.”

Another study was posted in the journal Cell in January, which demonstrated the possibility of reversing epigenetic degradation. Run by David Sinclair, an anti-aging expert and professor of genetics at Harvard, the study sought to prove that aging is caused by the gradual decline of cells’ DNA repair mechanism.

Scientists have made breakthroughs with age reversal in mice, but it’s unclear if they can replicate their results in humans.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Sinclair described the process:

“The cell panics, and proteins that normally would control the genes get distracted by having to go and repair the DNA. Then they don’t all find their way back to where they started, so over time it’s like a Ping-Pong match where the balls end up all over the floor.”

He and his team were able to reverse this process in mice, producing results such as restoring vision in blind mice.

A New Theory Emerges

Sinclair described what he and his team discovered about the aging process:

“It’s not junk, it’s not damage that causes us to get old. We believe it’s a loss of information — a loss in the cell’s ability to read its original DNA so it forgets how to function — in much the same way an old computer may develop corrupted software. I call it the information theory of aging.”

Sinclair and his team said they’ve found a “reset switch” that can reboot the system. He said that once that switch has been flipped, the cell will remember how to regenerate like a young cell, and thus reverse the effects of aging.

Through this process, Sinclair claimed he can drive an animal’s age “forwards and backwards at will.”

Will Sinclair’s discoveries translate to a reversal in the aging process in humans? It’s far too early to tell. His team is now testing their process on the eyes of monkeys and he said if that goes well, he will apply with the FDA to study blindness in humans.