In order to develop treatments for age-related diseases, heart disease and neurological disorders, scientists have studied how to rejuvenate human cells with the technique of cloning. The same technique that was used to create the Dolly sheep over 25 years ago.
A technique inspired by the cloning of Dolly
While many common illnesses get worse with age, Cambridge scientists have just published a study that shows people can be kept healthier for longer. This technique dates back to the 1990s, when scientists developed a method to transform an adult mammary gland cell taken from a sheep into a new embryo. It was used this time to create so-called human embryonic stem cells. By adding chemicals to adult cells for about 50 days, the cells caused genetic changes that turned adult cells into stem cells. And, by applying this chemical bath for 12 days instead of 50, the process did not turn the skin cells into embryonic stem cells, but they were rejuvenated as if they came from a 23-year-old woman.
Eternal life ?
The cells could be grown in specific tissues, such as muscle, cartilage or nerve cells, and used to replace other parts of the body to keep people healthier. Team leader Professor Wolf Reik, from the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, told the BBC he hoped the technique could eventually be used to treat common illnesses: “Many common illnesses get worse with age and to think of helping people in this way is super exciting”, did he declare. According to Professor Reik, some of the first applications could be the development of drugs to rejuvenate the skin of older people on body parts that have been cut or burned — to speed up healing. In theory, the researchers demonstrated that this was possible by showing that their rejuvenated skin cells moved faster in wound-simulating experiments.
Soon an anti-aging pill?
Based on this research, the question arises as to the possibility of developing a whole body regeneration method, such as an “elixir of youth” or an “anti-aging” pill. Professor Reik said this idea was not completely far-fetched: “The technique has been applied to genetically modified mice and there are signs of rejuvenation.” Biologists such as Professor Robin Lovell-Badge of the University of London believe, on the contrary, that such an application is pure speculation. In addition, the technique cannot be immediately used in the clinic, because the IPS method would increase the risk of cancers.
Still many scientific problems to overcome
Professor Reich pointed out that the work was at a very early stage. According to him, there are still several scientific problems to overcome before this innovation can leave his laboratory and be used in the clinic. Professor Reik does not budge: demonstrating for the first time that cellular rejuvenation is possible is already “a big step forward”. Now it’s about finding a safer solution.