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12 HEALTH AND LABORATORY MAGAZINE

“30 YEARS

TIME JUMP!”

Findings could lead to targeted
approach for treating aging.

Research from the the genome accumulates overcomes the problem of uration phase transient researchers looked for
Babraham Institute has marks of aging. Regenera- entirely erasing cell identity reprogramming’, exposes changes in the hallmarks
developed a method to tive biology aims to repair by halting reprogramming cells to Yamanaka factors of aging. As explained by
‘time jump’ human skin or replace cells including part of the way through for just 13 days. At this Dr. Diljeet Gill, a postdoc
cells by 30 years, turning old ones. One of the most the process. This allowed point, age-related changes in Wolf Reik’s lab at the
back the aging clock for important tools in regener- researchers to find the pre- are removed and the cells Institute who conducted
cells without losing their ative biology is our ability cise balance between re- have temporarily lost their the work as a PhD student:
specialized function. Work to create ‘induced’ stem programming cells, making identity. The partly repro- “Our understanding of
by researchers in the Insti- cells. The process is a result them biologically younger, grammed cells were given aging on a molecular level
tute’s Epigenetics research of several steps, each while still being able to time to grow under normal has progressed over the
program has been able to erasing some of the marks regain their specialized cell conditions, to observe last decade, giving rise
partly restore the function that make cells special- function. whether their specific skin to techniques that allow
of older cells, as well as ized. In theory, these stem cell function returned. Ge- researchers to measure
rejuvenating the molecular cells have the potential to In 2007, Shinya Yamanaka nome analysis showed that age-related biological
measures of biological age. become any cell type, but was the first scientist to cells had regained markers changes in human cells. We
The research is published in scientists aren’t yet able to turn normal cells, which characteristic of skin cells were able to apply this to
the journal eLife and whilst reliably recreate the con- have a specific function, (fibroblasts), and this was our experiment to deter-
at an early stage of explo- ditions to re-differentiate into stem cells that have confirmed by observing mine the extent of repro-
ration, it could revolutionize stem cells into all cell types. the special ability to collagen production in the gramming our new method
regenerative medicine. develop into any cell type. reprogrammed cells. achieved.”
TURNING BACK TIME The full process of stem
WHAT IS REGENERATIVE cell reprogramming takes AGE IS NOT JUST A Researchers looked at
MEDICINE? The new method, based around 50 days using four NUMBER multiple measures of
on the Nobel Prize-win- key molecules called the cellular age. The first is the
As we age, our cells’ ability ning technique scientists Yamanaka factors. The To show that the cells had epigenetic clock, where
to function declines and use to make stem cells, new method, called ‘mat- been rejuvenated, the chemical tags present