Regenerative Medicine
A new discovery may lead to treatments for atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s and other age-related disorders. The fountain of youth may reside in an embryonic stem cell gene named Nanog.
With a series of experiments at the University at Buffalo, a gene, called Nanog has reinvigorated dormant cellular processes that are key to preventing weak bones, clogged arteries and other telltale signs of growing old.
The findings, published recently in the journal Stem Cells, also show promise in counteracting premature aging disorders such as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.
"Our research into Nanog is helping us to better understand the process of aging and ultimately how to reverse it."
“Our research into Nanog is helping us to better understand the process of aging and ultimately how to reverse it,” says Stelios T. Andreadis, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the study’s lead author.Related articles
To combat aging, the human body holds a reservoir of non-specialized cells that can regenerate organs. These cells are called adult stem cells, and they are located in every tissue of the body and respond rapidly when there is a need.As people age, fewer adult stem cells perform their job well, a scenario which leads to age-related disorders. Reversing the effects of aging on adult stem cells, essentially rebooting them, can help overcome this problem.
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The images above show, from left to right, functioning stem cells, stem cells no longer functioning, and stem cells functioning after being rebooted by the embryonic stem cell gene Nanog.Add caption |
Andreadis previously showed that the capacity of adult stem cells to form muscle and generate force declines with aging. Specifically, he examined a subcategory of muscle cells called smooth muscle cells which reside in arteries, intestines and other tissues.
In the new study, Panagiotis Mistriotis, a graduate student in Andreadis’ lab and first author of the study, introduced Nanog into aged stem cells. He found that Nanog opens two key cellular pathways: Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) and Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β).
In turn, this re-energizes dormant proteins (actin) into building cytoskeletons that adult stem cells need to form muscle cells that contract. Force generated by these cells ultimately helps restore the regenerative properties that adult stem cells lose due to aging.
“Not only does Nanog have the capacity to delay aging, it has the potential in some cases to reverse it,” says Andreadis, noting that the embryonic stem cell gene worked in three different models of aging: cells isolated from aged donors, cells aged in culture (see below), and cells isolated from patients with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.
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