“We all wonder why we were stronger and mentally more agile when young. And these two unusually exciting papers actually point to a possible answer: the higher levels of the protein GDF11 we have when young. There seems to be little question that, at least in animals, GDF11 has an amazing capacity to restore aging muscle and brain function.”
- Dr. Douglas Melton, co-chair of HSCRB and co-director of HSCI
From Harvard Gazette
Hope for aging brains, skeletal muscle
Harvard stem cell researchers say protein can make those body parts function in old mice much as they did when younger.
May 4, 2014
By B. D. Colen, Harvard Staff Writer
Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) have shown that a protein, which they previously demonstrated can make failing hearts in aging mice appear more like those of young and healthy mice, similarly improves brain and skeletal muscle function in aging mice.
In two papers released online early today by the journal Science (which will formally publish the papers on Friday), professors Amy Wagers and Lee Rubin of Harvard’s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (HSCRB) report that injections of a protein known as GDF11, which is found in humans as well as mice, improved the exercise capability of mice and improved function of the olfactory region of the brains in the older mice.
Rubin and Wagers, who also has a laboratory at the Joslin Diabetes Center, said that, barring unexpected developments, they expect to have GDF11 enter initial human clinical trials within three to five years.
Postdoctoral fellow Lida Katsimpardi is the lead author on the Rubin group’s paper, and fellows Manisha Sinha and Young Jang are the lead authors on the paper from the Wagers group.
The studies examined the effect of GDF11 in two ways. First, they used a parabiotic system, in which two mice are surgically joined and the blood of the younger mouse circulates through the older mouse. Second, they injected the older mice with GDF11, which in an earlier study by Wagers and Richard Lee of Brigham and Women’s Hospital was shown to be sufficient to reverse characteristics of aging in the heart. Lee is also an author on the two new papers.
Doug Melton, co-chair of HSCRB and co-director of HSCI, reacted to the papers’ findings by saying he could not recall “a more exciting finding to come from stem cell science and clever experiments. This should give us all hope for a healthier future.
Read more from Harvard Gazette >>
- Dr. Douglas Melton, co-chair of HSCRB and co-director of HSCI
From Harvard Gazette
Hope for aging brains, skeletal muscle
Harvard stem cell researchers say protein can make those body parts function in old mice much as they did when younger.
May 4, 2014
By B. D. Colen, Harvard Staff Writer
Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) have shown that a protein, which they previously demonstrated can make failing hearts in aging mice appear more like those of young and healthy mice, similarly improves brain and skeletal muscle function in aging mice.
In two papers released online early today by the journal Science (which will formally publish the papers on Friday), professors Amy Wagers and Lee Rubin of Harvard’s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (HSCRB) report that injections of a protein known as GDF11, which is found in humans as well as mice, improved the exercise capability of mice and improved function of the olfactory region of the brains in the older mice.
Rubin and Wagers, who also has a laboratory at the Joslin Diabetes Center, said that, barring unexpected developments, they expect to have GDF11 enter initial human clinical trials within three to five years.
Postdoctoral fellow Lida Katsimpardi is the lead author on the Rubin group’s paper, and fellows Manisha Sinha and Young Jang are the lead authors on the paper from the Wagers group.
The studies examined the effect of GDF11 in two ways. First, they used a parabiotic system, in which two mice are surgically joined and the blood of the younger mouse circulates through the older mouse. Second, they injected the older mice with GDF11, which in an earlier study by Wagers and Richard Lee of Brigham and Women’s Hospital was shown to be sufficient to reverse characteristics of aging in the heart. Lee is also an author on the two new papers.
Doug Melton, co-chair of HSCRB and co-director of HSCI, reacted to the papers’ findings by saying he could not recall “a more exciting finding to come from stem cell science and clever experiments. This should give us all hope for a healthier future.
Read more from Harvard Gazette >>
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