Gene Therapy-Mediated Partial Reprogramming Extends Lifespan and Reverses Age-Related Changes in Aged Mice

Aging is a complex progression of changes best characterized as the chronic dysregulation of cellular processes leading to deteriorated tissue and organ function. Although aging cannot currently be prevented, its impact on life- and healthspan in the elderly can potentially be minimized by interventions that aim to return these cellular processes to optimal function. Recent studies have demonstrated that partial reprogramming using the Yamanaka factors (or a subset; OCT4, SOX2, and KLF4; OSK) can reverse age-related changes in vitro and in vivo. However, it is still unknown whether the Yamanaka factors (or a subset) are capable of extending the lifespan of aged wild-type (WT) mice. In this study, we show that systemically delivered adeno-associated viruses, encoding an inducible OSK system, in 124-week-old male mice extend the median remaining lifespan by 109% over WT controls and enhance several health parameters. Importantly, we observed a significant improvement in frailty scores indicating that we were able to improve the healthspan along with increasing the lifespan. Furthermore, in human keratinocytes expressing exogenous OSK, we observed significant epigenetic markers of age reversal, suggesting a potential reregulation of genetic networks to a younger potentially healthier state. Together, these results may have important implications for the development of partial reprogramming interventions to reverse age-associated diseases in the elderly.