BioTime, Inc. (NYSE Amex:BTIM), a biotechnology company that
develops and markets products in the field of stem cells and
regenerative medicine, today announced the publication of a
scientific paper titled “Spontaneous Reversal of Developmental
Aging in Normal Human Cells Following Transcriptional
Reprogramming.” The article was released online today in the
peer-reviewed journal Regenerative Medicine in advance of the print
publication. The demonstration that the aging of human cells can be
reversed may have significant implications for the development of
new classes of cell-based therapies targeting age-related
degenerative disease. The on-line version of the article can be
found at
http://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/abs/10.2217/rme.10.21.
In the article, BioTime and its collaborators demonstrate the
successful reversal of the developmental aging of normal human
cells. Using precise genetic modifications, normal human cells were
induced to reverse both the “clock” of differentiation (the process
by which an embryonic stem cell becomes the many specialized
differentiated cell types of the body), and the “clock” of cellular
aging (telomere length). As a result, aged differentiated cells
became young stem cells capable of regeneration.
The paper sheds light on the recent controversy over the aged
status of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. iPS cell technology
has excited the scientific community because it has been
demonstrated to be a method of transforming adult human cells back
to a state very similar to embryonic stem cells (reversing the
process of development) without the use of human embryos. However,
recent reports have suggested that iPS cells, though very similar
to embryonic stem cells in many respects, may not have the normal
replicative potential of embryonic stem cells (that is, the iPS
cells may be prematurely old). This problem has been called “the
Achilles heel of iPS cell technology.” BioTime scientists and their
collaborators show in this paper that many iPS cell lines currently
being circulated in the scientific community have short telomeres,
meaning that their clock of cellular aging is still set at the age
of relatively old cells. However, among these prematurely old
cells, other cells can be found with sufficient levels of
telomerase (a protein that keeps reproductive cells young) that
allow these cells to reverse cellular aging all the way back to the
very beginning of the human life cycle.
The research reported in this paper is part of BioTime's broader
research strategy to advance the capabilities of the company’s
proprietary ReCyte technology. ReCyte is being developed as a means
of implementing iPS technology on an industrial scale. The study
published today intentionally used older viral-based means of
introducing genes. Therefore, BioTime plans further studies of
cellular aging reversal using its proprietary ReCyte technology.
BioTime has filed new patent applications on methods used in the
paper to reverse the developmental aging of cells and the use of
transcriptional reprogramming to produce young cells of many types
for use in regenerating tissues affected by aging.
“This is just the beginning of some really fascinating new
possibilities for intervening in age-related disease,” said Michael
D. West, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of BioTime,
Inc. “We believe that these technologies will have a significant
impact on the future of medicine. However, it is important to
underscore that much work needs to be done to translate these
findings into safe and efficacious therapies.”
“At the National Institute on Aging, we reviewed many proposals
from leading gerontologists seeking means to understand and
intervene in the biology of aging,” said Robert N. Butler, M.D.,
Founding Director of the National Institute on Aging, now President
of the International Longevity Center, and Board member of BioTime.
“These are just the type of basic discoveries that if funded on a
larger scale, could help us ward off the enormous wave of health
care expenditures coming our way as a result of the aging baby boom
population.”
Background
Regenerative medicine refers to the development and use of
therapies based on human embryonic stem (hES) cell or induced
pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology. These therapies will be
designed to regenerate tissues afflicted by degenerative diseases.
The great scientific and public interest in regenerative medicine
lies in the potential of hES and iPS cells to become all of the
cell types of the human body. Many scientists therefore believe
that hES and iPS cells have considerable potential as sources of
new therapies for a host of currently incurable diseases such as
diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, heart failure, arthritis, muscular
dystrophy, spinal cord injury, macular degeneration, hearing loss,
liver failure, and many other disorders where cells and tissues
become dysfunctional and need to be replaced.
Since human embryonic stem cells are derived from discarded
human embryos created in the process of in vitro fertilization
(IVF), their use in research has been controversial. However,
induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells can be created using
noncontroversial adult cells, such as skin cells, rather than
embryonic cells. The alteration of specific genes in adult cells
allows them to be transformed into iPS cells that are very similar
to hES cells.
BioTime plans to eventually utilize these technologies for human
therapeutic applications. However, the technologies reported in
BioTime’s scientific article are early stage research findings.
Cell-based therapeutics require years of extensive preclinical
testing and development prior to being used in an effort to treat
humans.
Where More Information Can Be Found
The article is published online at
http://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/abs/10.2217/rme.10.21. The
authors of the article include: Dr. Homayoun Vaziri, Andriana
Guigova, and Jonathan Teichroeb of the Ontario Cancer Institute;
Ilyas Singec and Evan Snyder of the Burnham Institute for Medical
Research; David Larocca of Mandala Biosciences, LLC; Laura Briggs,
Jessica Wheeler, and William H. Andrews of Sierra Biosciences;
Rodolfo Gonzales of the Scripps Research Institute; and Karen B.
Chapman, Markus D. Lacher, Hal Sternberg, Walter D. Funk, and
Michael D. West from BioTime, Inc.
Additional information about the use of BioTime’s stem cell
technology is available at www.biotimeinc.com.
About BioTime, Inc.
BioTime, headquartered in Alameda, California, is a
biotechnology company focused on regenerative medicine and blood
plasma volume expanders. BioTime develops and markets research
products in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine
through its wholly owned subsidiary Embryome Sciences, Inc.
BioTime’s subsidiary OncoCyte Corporation focuses on the
therapeutic applications of stem cell technology in cancer. BioTime
also plans to develop therapeutic products in China for the
treatment of ophthalmologic, skin, musculo-skeletal system and
hematologic diseases, including the targeting of genetically
modified stem cells to tumors as a novel means of treating
currently incurable forms of cancer through its subsidiary BioTime
Asia. In addition to its stem cell products, BioTime develops blood
plasma volume expanders, blood replacement solutions for
hypothermic (low temperature) surgery, and technology for use in
surgery, emergency trauma treatment and other applications.
BioTime's lead product, Hextend®, is a blood plasma volume expander
manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by Hospira, Inc. and in
South Korea by CJ CheilJedang Corp. under exclusive licensing
agreements. Additional information about BioTime can be found on
the web at www.biotimeinc.com.
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