NExtbigfuture covered research last year on the blood protein GDF11 from young mice which seems to rejuvenate older mice.
In recent years, researchers studying mice found that giving old animals blood from young ones can reverse some signs of aging, and last year one team identified a growth factor in the blood that they think is partly responsible for the anti-aging effect on a specific tissue--the heart. Now that group has shown this same factor can also rejuvenate muscle and the brain.
"This is the first demonstration of a rejuvenation factor" that is naturally produced, declines with age, and reverses aging in multiple tissues, says Harvard stem cell researcher Amy Wagers, who led efforts to isolate and study the protein. Independently, another team has found that simply injecting plasma from young mice into old mice can boost learning.
So far only two other interventions--the drug rapamycin and caloric restriction—have been shown convincingly to slow or reverse aging in multiple tissues, says Kaeberlein. Wagers points out that GDF11 could be safer than a drug because it’s found naturally in blood. Harvard has filed for patents on GDF11, and Wagers says she and her colleagues are "in the process of talking with people" about commercializing it to treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s and heart disease. Giving GDF11 itself "would require huge amounts of protein," Wagers says, so it may be better to use a modified form or to target the GDF11 pathway with a different molecule. “These are tractable problems," Wagers says. "The most important hurdle was figuring out a pathway to go after."
Read more »![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
In recent years, researchers studying mice found that giving old animals blood from young ones can reverse some signs of aging, and last year one team identified a growth factor in the blood that they think is partly responsible for the anti-aging effect on a specific tissue--the heart. Now that group has shown this same factor can also rejuvenate muscle and the brain.
"This is the first demonstration of a rejuvenation factor" that is naturally produced, declines with age, and reverses aging in multiple tissues, says Harvard stem cell researcher Amy Wagers, who led efforts to isolate and study the protein. Independently, another team has found that simply injecting plasma from young mice into old mice can boost learning.
So far only two other interventions--the drug rapamycin and caloric restriction—have been shown convincingly to slow or reverse aging in multiple tissues, says Kaeberlein. Wagers points out that GDF11 could be safer than a drug because it’s found naturally in blood. Harvard has filed for patents on GDF11, and Wagers says she and her colleagues are "in the process of talking with people" about commercializing it to treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s and heart disease. Giving GDF11 itself "would require huge amounts of protein," Wagers says, so it may be better to use a modified form or to target the GDF11 pathway with a different molecule. “These are tractable problems," Wagers says. "The most important hurdle was figuring out a pathway to go after."
Read more »
