Telomerase Gene Therapy Used to Cure Fibrosis in a Mouse Model

Maria Blasco's research group has been working on telomerase gene therapy to lengthen telomeres for some years now; they are quite enthusiastic about this approach as a means to treat aging. One can't argue with the data showing extension of mouse life span, nor the results announced today in which induced telomerase activity is shown to reverse fibrosis. We can argue about what is going on under the hood, and whether or not addressing telomere length is in fact tackling the root causes of aging. Perhaps the most important difference between the views of aging outlined in the SENS rejuvenation research proposals and the later Hallmarks of Aging is that the latter places telomere length front and center as being of importance. In the SENS view, telomere length is a secondary marker, a consequence of other forms of damage. So how can a therapy that induces telomerase activity to lengthen telomeres, something that to my eyes doesn't address root causes of aging, produce significant impact on mouse longevity? Well, there are many proven ways to produce significant gains in mouse longevity that have nothing to do with repairing damage after the SENS model. Calorie restriction, for example, is exactly a slowing of aging, a slowdown of the accumulation of damage, and it produces a larger gain in life span than telomerase gene therapy in mice. It doesn't do that much for human life span, sadly, though it is certainly good for health. As a general rule we should expect a...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs