Lab technique resets aged blood cells into youthful neural stem cells
Scientists reprogrammed immature blood cells from an 80-year-old into neural stem cells whose molecular age markers resembled those of a person under 20. The gradual conversion reset aging-related molecular features by more than 60 years in the lab. The approach may help researchers study aging and diseases such as Alzheimer's.
Researchers at the University Hospital of Bonn and the University of Bonn converted immature red blood cell precursors into neural stem cells. The conversion relied on transcription factors, proteins that alter gene activity and can redirect a cell’s identity. Because the change unfolded gradually, the team could monitor aging-related molecular markers as they reset. The work appeared in Aging Cell.
Earlier Bonn experiments showed that nerve cells produced this way could integrate with existing neurons after mouse-brain transplantation. In the new study, epigenetic clocks—chemical DNA modifications used to estimate biological age—indicated a shift of more than 60 years. This gave the scientists a way to observe rejuvenation over time.
This laboratory advance could affect aging research and people affected by age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s by giving scientists a new way to study cellular rejuvenation. Researchers may use such reprogrammed cells to probe disease mechanisms or test ideas, while patients and families might eventually benefit if insights translate into treatments. Because the work is early and laboratory-based, any clinical impact would likely be years away and remains uncertain.