Scientists leverage common virus for life extension

Researchers found a way to use a common virus to deliver gene therapy that extend the lifespan of test mice, improve their physical performance, and reduce their cells’ age.

The researchers at at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School used cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus, to drive the activity of two genes, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and follistatin (FST). The therapy extended the median mouse lifespan by 41.4% and 32.5%, respectively.

A report on their study, “New intranasal and injectable gene therapy for healthy life extension,” was published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” and suggests that the therapy is equally effective whether delivered via injection or intranasally.

Gene therapy has long been thought to be a potential treatment for aging. One approach has focused on reversing molecular or cellular events that drive aging. Another has promoted processes active in bodies during their development and youth.

This study did both.

It focused on efforts to lengthen telomeres, protective caps at the ends of DNA molecules that make up chromosomes. Telomeres prevent chromosomes from fraying or sticking to one another. But they shorten with each cell division and, over time, get so short they can no longer function. Research suggests that introducing TERT genes can result in lengthened telomeres and lifespans and a reduced risk of age-related diseases like heart disease.

Researchers also increased test mice’s FST levels, which is known to increase skeletal muscle mass by two- to three-fold. Mice lacking FST have smaller and fewer muscle fibers and show stunted growth, skeletal defects, reduced body mass, and die a few hours after birth, suggesting an essential role of FST in skeletal muscle development.

While viruses have been used in gene therapy before, using CMV as a delivery vehicle appears uniquely efficient. Earlier studies found that adenovirus-associated viruses (AAV) — small viruses that infect humans and some other primates — carrying the TERT gene can suppress or reverse the effects of aging in mice.

But the results using CMV exceeded the longevity achieved with TERT gene therapy using AAV, which was 13% and 24% when delivered in a single dose at 2- and 1-year-old mice, respectively – far less than the 41.4% of this study.

The CMV-delivered TERT and FST also provided some surprising results, including increased muscle mass, improved activity and muscle coordination, and increased glucose tolerance.

But what may be most striking about this study is the enthusiasm authors expressed in their conclusion:

“Our study justifies further efforts to investigate the use of CMV TERT and FST vectors against aging-related chronic inflammatory conditions, type 2 diabetes, sarcopenia, dementia, lung, kidney, and heart diseases responsible for decreased quality of life and premature death.”

At Methuselah Foundation, we have always been open to new approaches to treating and curing aging. We look forward to seeing more work using CMV.