Vision restored in nonhuman primates via epigenetic reprogramming

What's the news: For the first time ever, scientists have reversed vision loss in nonhuman primates with a gene therapy using Yamanaka factors.

Why we should believe it: This news was announced yesterday at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2023 conference in New Orleans, LA, by scientists from Life Biosciences, a biotech company started by Harvard genetics professor David Sinclair.

At this stage, we only have the company's press release to go on. Based on that, here's what's happened:

1. Scientists at Life Biosciences used OSK, a method developed inside Sinclair's lab at Harvard. OSK aims to use epigenetic reprogramming to reset cells to a more youthful state while keeping their cell identity (i.e., not turning into full-on stem cells). OSK uses three of the four Yamanaka transcription factors, the dramatic rejuvenation discovery that won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

2. The Life Biosciences team administered this gene therapy to "nonhuman primates" who had suffered eye damage. What exactly is a nonhuman primate? A monkey? A lemur? That guy who bullied you in 7th grade? We don't know, and the press release doesn't say.

3. Results of the treatment: Significantly improved eye scans and significantly higher numbers of healthy optic nerve bundles, "consistent with restoration of vision."

Why is this a big deal: The kind of vision damage in these nonhuman primates mirrors non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a disorder similar to a stroke of the eye. NAION is a relatively uncommon condition, but it is one of the leading causes of sudden, painless vision loss in adults over the age of 50. The current nonhuman primate treatment offers direct promise to human primates suffering from NAION.

But much more importantly, this is the first primate demonstration of epigenetic reprogramming via Yamanaka factors. It's a giant step forward in bringing genuine, body-wide rejuvenation to humans, and a big feather in the caps of longevity scientists and proponents.

“How’s that Elon?” Perhaps not surprisingly, David Sinclair himself tweeted the following taunting tweet earlier today, tagging the world's second-richest man, Elon Musk, who recently expressed skepticism about longevity research: