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Dec 1, 2020

Simulations open a new way to reverse cell aging

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, engineering, life extension, neuroscience

Simulations that model molecular interactions have identified an enzyme that could be targeted to reverse a called cellular senescence. The findings were validated with laboratory experiments on and equivalent tissues, and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

“Our research opens the door for a new generation that perceives aging as a reversible biological phenomenon,” says Professor Kwang-Hyun Cho of the Department of Bio and Brain engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), who led the research with colleagues from KAIST and Amorepacific Corporation in Korea.

Cells respond to a variety of factors, such as oxidative stress, DNA damage, and shortening of the telomeres capping the ends of chromosomes, by entering a stable and persistent exit from the . This process, called cellular senescence, is important, as it prevents damaged from proliferating and turning into . But it is also a natural process that contributes to aging and . Recent research has shown that cellular senescence can be reversed. But the laboratory approaches used thus far also impair tissue regeneration or have the potential to trigger malignant transformations.

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