RESUMO
Aging is a complex progression of changes best characterized as the chronic dysregulation of cellular processes leading to deteriorated tissue and organ function. Although aging cannot currently be prevented, its impact on life- and healthspan in the elderly can potentially be minimized by interventions that aim to return these cellular processes to optimal function. Recent studies have demonstrated that partial reprogramming using the Yamanaka factors (or a subset; OCT4, SOX2, and KLF4; OSK) can reverse age-related changes in vitro and in vivo. However, it is still unknown whether the Yamanaka factors (or a subset) are capable of extending the lifespan of aged wild-type (WT) mice. In this study, we show that systemically delivered adeno-associated viruses, encoding an inducible OSK system, in 124-week-old male mice extend the median remaining lifespan by 109% over WT controls and enhance several health parameters. Importantly, we observed a significant improvement in frailty scores indicating that we were able to improve the healthspan along with increasing the lifespan. Furthermore, in human keratinocytes expressing exogenous OSK, we observed significant epigenetic markers of age reversal, suggesting a potential reregulation of genetic networks to a younger potentially healthier state. Together, these results may have important implications for the development of partial reprogramming interventions to reverse age-associated diseases in the elderly.
Assuntos
Envelhecimento , Longevidade , Idoso , Masculino , Humanos , Animais , Camundongos , Longevidade/genética , Envelhecimento/genética , Terapia Genética , Queratinócitos , Reprogramação CelularRESUMO
Ageing is a degenerative process that leads to tissue dysfunction and death. A proposed cause of ageing is the accumulation of epigenetic noise that disrupts gene expression patterns, leading to decreases in tissue function and regenerative capacity1-3. Changes to DNA methylation patterns over time form the basis of ageing clocks4, but whether older individuals retain the information needed to restore these patterns-and, if so, whether this could improve tissue function-is not known. Over time, the central nervous system (CNS) loses function and regenerative capacity5-7. Using the eye as a model CNS tissue, here we show that ectopic expression of Oct4 (also known as Pou5f1), Sox2 and Klf4 genes (OSK) in mouse retinal ganglion cells restores youthful DNA methylation patterns and transcriptomes, promotes axon regeneration after injury, and reverses vision loss in a mouse model of glaucoma and in aged mice. The beneficial effects of OSK-induced reprogramming in axon regeneration and vision require the DNA demethylases TET1 and TET2. These data indicate that mammalian tissues retain a record of youthful epigenetic information-encoded in part by DNA methylation-that can be accessed to improve tissue function and promote regeneration in vivo.
Assuntos
Envelhecimento/genética , Reprogramação Celular/genética , Metilação de DNA , Epigênese Genética , Olho , Regeneração Nervosa/genética , Visão Ocular/genética , Visão Ocular/fisiologia , Envelhecimento/fisiologia , Animais , Axônios/fisiologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Sobrevivência Celular , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/genética , Dependovirus/genética , Dioxigenases , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Olho/citologia , Olho/inervação , Olho/patologia , Feminino , Vetores Genéticos/genética , Glaucoma/genética , Glaucoma/patologia , Humanos , Fator 4 Semelhante a Kruppel , Fatores de Transcrição Kruppel-Like/genética , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Fator 3 de Transcrição de Octâmero/genética , Traumatismos do Nervo Óptico/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas/genética , Células Ganglionares da Retina/citologia , Fatores de Transcrição SOXB1/genética , Transcriptoma/genéticaRESUMO
Comorbidity is common as age increases, and currently prescribed treatments often ignore the interconnectedness of the involved age-related diseases. The presence of any one such disease usually increases the risk of having others, and new approaches will be more effective at increasing an individual's health span by taking this systems-level view into account. In this study, we developed gene therapies based on 3 longevity associated genes (fibroblast growth factor 21 [FGF21], αKlotho, soluble form of mouse transforming growth factor-ß receptor 2 [sTGFßR2]) delivered using adeno-associated viruses and explored their ability to mitigate 4 age-related diseases: obesity, type II diabetes, heart failure, and renal failure. Individually and combinatorially, we applied these therapies to disease-specific mouse models and found that this set of diverse pathologies could be effectively treated and in some cases, even reversed with a single dose. We observed a 58% increase in heart function in ascending aortic constriction ensuing heart failure, a 38% reduction in α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) expression, and a 75% reduction in renal medullary atrophy in mice subjected to unilateral ureteral obstruction and a complete reversal of obesity and diabetes phenotypes in mice fed a constant high-fat diet. Crucially, we discovered that a single formulation combining 2 separate therapies into 1 was able to treat all 4 diseases. These results emphasize the promise of gene therapy for treating diverse age-related ailments and demonstrate the potential of combination gene therapy that may improve health span and longevity by addressing multiple diseases at once.