Rejuvenation breakthrough: Scientists reverse 60 years of aging in human cells
Scientists have turned blood cells from an 80-year-old into neural stem cells with a molecular age of less than 20, effectively reversing more than 60 years of cellular aging in the laboratory. The discovery offers a new way to investigate how cells become younger and could help researchers better understand age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's.
Key points
- Researchers in Germany reprogrammed immature red blood cells into neural stem cells, resetting molecular markers tied to aging.
- Cells from an 80-year-old showed molecular age signatures of someone under 20, reversing more than 60 years of aging.
- The gradual process was tracked for over 100 days, with rejuvenation of about 60 years observed after 50 days.
Scientists at the University Hospital of Bonn and the University of Bonn in Germany have reversed the molecular age of human cells, turning blood cells from an 80-year-old person into stem cells with an age signature of less than 20 years. The work was published in the journal Aging Cell.
The team reprogrammed immature red blood cells into neural stem cells, which can develop into brain cells. Molecular markers linked to aging were reset during the process, making the cells more than 60 years younger at the molecular level.
How the reprogramming worked
The researchers used transcription factors, proteins that control which genes a cell follows, to give mature cells a new identity. Unlike earlier methods that first converted cells into pluripotent stem cells and then into neural stem cells, the Bonn team skipped the pluripotent stage and went directly to neural stem cells.
Prof. Dr. Oliver Brüstle, director of the Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology at the University Hospital of Bonn, said the direct route meant rejuvenation happened gradually and could be tracked for over 100 days. The study reported rejuvenation of approximately 60 years after 50 days.
After all, age is the most important risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's!
— Prof. Dr. Oliver Brüstle
Possible research uses
The researchers measured molecular age using epigenetic clocks, which estimate biological age from chemical changes to DNA that do not alter the sequence itself. Brüstle said the slow reset makes the process useful as an experimental model for testing which factors and substances speed up or slow down rejuvenation.
The work does not establish a treatment for aging in people, but it offers a laboratory model for studying cellular changes tied to conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. The research involved the University of Bonn, the University Hospital of Bonn and RWTH Aachen University, with funding from Horizon 2020, the DFG and the BMFRT.
