Telomerase gene therapy in adult and old mice delays aging and increases longevity without increasing cancer.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Animal study with no human data
PubMed 22585399 · doi:10.1002/emmm.201200245
What was done
Adult (1-year-old) and old (2-year-old) mice were treated with an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector expressing mouse TERT or a catalytically inactive TERT control, and compared against control littermates. Health and fitness markers (insulin sensitivity, osteoporosis, neuromuscular coordination, molecular biomarkers of aging), cancer incidence, and lifespan were evaluated.
What was found
TERT gene therapy increased median lifespan by 24% in 1-year-old mice and by 13% in 2-year-old mice compared to controls. Health markers including insulin sensitivity, osteoporosis, and neuromuscular coordination improved. Cancer incidence did not increase relative to control littermates. Beneficial effects were absent with catalytically inactive TERT. Specific numerical values for the non-lifespan markers were not reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
This study provides proof-of-principle in mice that adult-onset AAV-mediated telomerase gene therapy can extend median lifespan and improve healthspan markers without accelerating tumorigenesis.
Limits
This is an animal model study with no human data, limiting direct clinical translation. The abstract does not report sample sizes, confidence intervals, or specific quantitative values for the healthspan biomarkers.
Cited by
- partial Gene therapies using follistatin and telomerase reproducibly improve hallmarks, biomarkers, and diseases of aging across mouse models.
- supports Follistatin and TERT gene therapy treatments produced a statistically significant longevity extension in rodents.