New about the Oct4 gene

Maybe he is the "eternal youth" gene?

LifeSciencesToday based on UVA materials: Gene helps prevent heart attack, stroke – and may offer a way to block effects of aging

The gene, recognized by science as inactive in the adult body, actually plays a crucial role in eliminating the cause of most myocardial infarctions and strokes, scientists from the University of Virginia School of Medicine have concluded. The data they have obtained opens up a new direction in the fight against these most dangerous conditions and tempting prospects for using this gene in order to prevent or at least delay some of the harmful effects of aging.

"The ability to enhance the expression of this gene in adult cells may be of great importance for maintaining health and, perhaps, reversing some of the detrimental effects of aging," says study leader Gary Owens, PhD, director of the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center UVA.

The Oct4 gene plays a key role in the development of all living organisms, but until now scientists believed that at the end of embryonic development it permanently loses its activity. Some, admittedly, controversial studies have shown that at a later stage of life, he may have another function. For the first time, researchers from UVA have provided convincing evidence of this. Dr. Owens and his colleagues found that Oct4 plays an important protective role in the formation of atherosclerotic plaques inside blood vessels. The rupture of these plaques is the root cause of many myocardial infarctions and strokes.

The researchers found that Oct4 regulates the migration of smooth muscle cells into protective fibrous "caps" inside plaques – formations that reduce the likelihood of their rupture. In addition, they presented evidence that this gene contributes to many changes in the expression of other genes useful for plaque stabilization. Since experiments show that the development of drugs or other therapeutic agents whose targets will be the Oct4 pathway does not seem unrealistic, this is interesting information. Perhaps working in this direction will help reduce the frequency of heart attacks and strokes.

"From the point of view of possible new therapeutic approaches to the stabilization of atherosclerotic plaques, our data are very important," commented Olga A. Cherepanova, PhD, senior researcher at the Owens Laboratory, the first author of the study.

One unexpected result of this study: by blocking the effect of Oct4 in mice, scientists expected that atherosclerotic plaques would become smaller due to a decrease in the number of smooth muscle cells in them. But instead, the plaques have increased, become less stable and more dangerous; they have more lipids, dead cells and other harmful components.

Although the work of Dr. Owens and his colleagues has focused on the cardiovascular protective function of Oct4, he believes that this gene may also be useful in the field of regenerative medicine. In his opinion, Oct4 and its family of target genes are active in other somatic cells and play a key role in the ability of cells to repair damage and heal wounds. Research is already underway in Owens' lab to test this assumption.

The Oct4 gene is one of the factors of pluripotency of stem cells. These factors were described by Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2012. His and many other laboratories have shown that the enhancement of Oct4 expression in somatic cells grown in the laboratory is essential for reprogramming these cells into induced pluripotent stem cells, which can then transform into any type of body cells or even into an entire organism.

Dr. Owens and his colleagues believe that at least some of the effects of aging, including an increased risk of plaque rupture, are due to a decrease in the body's ability to reactivate Oct4.

"Reactivating this pathway can have a significant impact on health and aging," the scientist believes. "We think that from the point of view of controlling the plasticity of somatic cells, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Who knows if this gene will eventually turn out to be the genome of the very "fountain of youth", the path to the revitalization of old and worn-out cells. Time will tell."

Article by Cherepanova et al. Activation of the pluripotency factor OCT4 in smooth muscle cells is atheroprotective published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  20.05.2016