[tt] Genetic Cosmetic Makes Old Skin Like New in mice

[Brian Atkins]

http://www.wired.com/medtech/genetics/news/2007/11/genetic_cosmetic

Scientists at Stanford have reversed the aging of skin in mice, making it look 
and act like new skin.

The researchers first discovered a protein that plays a role in skin aging. Then 
they used a lotion that inhibited the protein in a genetically engineered mouse. 
After two weeks of treatment with their genetic cosmetic, the skin of older mice 
displayed the look and genetic profile of younger skin.

"It would be the best wrinkle cream ever, because it would actually work," said 
Alexander Hoffman, a biochemistry professor at the University of California at 
San Diego who did not participate in the study.

Recent advances in understanding the cellular and molecular basis of aging have 
raised hopes that treatments to significantly slow or reverse aging will soon be 
available for humans. For example, the widely publicized age-extending effects 
in mice of the compound resveratol, found in red wine, led to a surge in the 
supplement's use, despite no clinical proof of its efficacy in humans. And 
skincare companies like Proctor & Gamble have launched genome studies in hopes 
of developing a more powerful youth serum.

While the Stanford research isn't yet ready for humans, it provides surprising 
insight into how the body ages. The work suggests that aging is not merely a 
passive wearing down of the body and its components, but that an active genetic 
process causes aging.

With one protein serving as a major regulator of the process, the researchers 
showed they could switch off that active aging, at least temporarily. The study, 
led by Howard Chang, a professor of dermatology, will appear in the December 15 
issue of Genes & Development.

Chang compared his discovery with the recent breakthrough that transformed skin 
cells to stem cells, saying his work is more proof that genetic expression can 
reprogram cells.

"It is another example of how there is plasticity in the genome," said Chang. 
"Once you understand the logic of the cell, you can tell it, 'I want you to play 
this tape' and that is the program that runs."

Chang's team genetically altered mice so that they could reduce the amount of 
NF-kB in skin cells -- the protein they found that controls various aging 
processes –- with a simple chemical. Then they applied that chemical, 
effectively blocking the protein.

"When you block NF-kB when the organism is quite old," Chang said, "you can 
basically block the genetic program, 'aging.'"

The skin treated with the NF-kB blocking solution became measurably thicker. A 
series of genetic changes also showed decreased cell aging.

The findings could lend support to researchers like the controversial Aubrey de 
Grey of The Methusaleh Foundation, who believes that a multipronged approach can 
reverse the aging process, known as senescence.

But Chang was careful not to oversell his discovery's human applications. Since 
the scientists used a transgenic mouse, their study can't easily be translated 
to humans. (He does not own stock in any pharmaceutical companies, nor does he 
intend to commercialize his discovery at this time.)

"People should be careful in thinking that this would rapidly lead to treatments 
in humans," Chang said. "We have to understand all the consequence of what might 
happen when you go in and try to hijack the system."

But it's clear that youth-crazed human beings, who spent $5.8 billion in 2007 in 
the United States alone on skincare products, are willing to take risks to 
achieve a youthful appearance.

Topical inhibitors of NF-kB already exist for treating inflammatory skin 
diseases like dermatitis. It's unclear, however, whether those creams would 
deliver a high enough dosage of the inhibitor. And a higher dose could lead to 
unforeseen side effects since NF-kB has a variety of other functions aside from 
controlling aging.

"If you inhibit it too much, you might cause too much rejuvenation and cause 
cell proliferation," said Hoffman. "The possibility of causing cancer that way 
may be there."

-- 
Brian Atkins
Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
http://www.singinst.org/