Anti-Aging Strategies Based on Cellular Reprogramming

Aging can be defined as the progressive decline in the ability of a cell or organism to resist stress and disease. Recent advances in cellular reprogramming technologies have enabled detailed analyses of the aging process, often involving cell types derived from aged individuals, or patients with premature aging syndromes. In this review we discuss how cellular reprogramming allows the recapitulation of aging in a dish, describing novel experimental approaches to investigate the aging process. Finally, we explore the role of epigenetic dysregulation as a driver of aging, discussing how epigenetic reprogramming may be harnessed to ameliorate aging hallmarks, both in vitro and in vivo. A better understanding of the reprogramming process may indeed assist the development of novel therapeutic strategies to extend a healthy lifespan.

TrendsMultiple experimental approaches are being developed as potential anti-aging therapies. These include the modulation of metabolic signaling pathways through small molecules, the rejuvenation of stem cells, and the elimination of senescent cells accumulating during aging.Epigenetic changes observed during aging are being currently studied as active drivers of the aging process and are proposed as novel ‘biomarkers’ of biological aging.The discovery of cellular reprogramming through forced expression of Yamanaka transcription factors has facilitated the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from patient somatic cells. Patient specific iPSCs from a wide range of diseases are being used as disease models and platforms for drug screening.Cellular reprogramming has demonstrated that multiple aging hallmarks can be reversed to younger states, highlighting the plasticity of aging.In vivo cellular reprogramming to pluripotency has been achieved in multiple mouse tissues including stomach, intestine, pancreas, and kidney, and is currently being studied as a potential strategy to induce in vivo tissue regeneration.