While NMN and NR could slow down our aging process, the real game-changers are the “yamanka factors” (published in Cell Vol 126, Issue 4, pg.663-676, August 25, 2006) for which a Nobel-prize was awarded in 2012. Four “yamanaka” transcription factors (Oct3/4, Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4) can reprogram an adult cell into a pluripotent embryonic-like state, and therefore, can actually “reverse” our aging processes.
Are there examples of how yamanaka factors were applied to reverse aging processes?
Here are examples of how the yamanaka factors were recently applied to reverse aging processes:
- In 2020, Lu et al in Nature 588, 124-129 (2020) used yamanaka factors to restore vision in mice with glaucoma.
- In 2022, researchers at Babraham Institute Cambridge used Yamanaka factors to “reverse age” human skin cells by 30 years. See eLife 2022 and BBC news Apr 2022.
Can yamanaka factors be applied to the entire body?
However, we have yet to figure out a way to reverse the aging process of our entire body by directly injecting the Yamanaka factors into the systemic circulation. Direct injection of Yamanka factors could induce growth of cancerous cells.
Can we hope for that day when our 55-year-old body can reverse to our 25-year-old self?
But we might not be too far away. Knowing that we were able to make limited but successful applications of the yamanaka factors gives us hope that we might be on the verge of “reverse aging.”