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Updated: Mar 10, 2026

Evaluation of Injury-induced Senescence and In Vivo Reprogramming in the Skeletal Muscle
Published on: October 26, 2017
In Vivo Amelioration of Age-Associated Hallmarks by Partial Reprogramming
Alejandro Ocampo1, Pradeep Reddy1, Paloma Martinez-Redondo1
1Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Abstract:
Aging is the major risk factor for many human diseases. In vitro studies have demonstrated that cellular reprogramming to pluripotency reverses cellular age, but alteration of the aging process through reprogramming has not been directly demonstrated in vivo. Here, we report that partial reprogramming by short-term cyclic expression of Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM) ameliorates cellular and physiological hallmarks of aging and prolongs lifespan in a mouse model of premature aging. Similarly, expression of OSKM in vivo improves recovery from metabolic disease and muscle injury in older wild-type mice. The amelioration of age-associated phenotypes by epigenetic remodeling during cellular reprogramming highlights the role of epigenetic dysregulation as a driver of mammalian aging. Establishing in vivo platforms to modulate age-associated epigenetic marks may provide further insights into the biology of aging.
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