Researchers at the School of Medicine have discovered a genetic switch that can turn back the clock on skin aging. While principal investigator Howard Chang, a professor of dermatology, cautions that the results are thus far true only in mice, his team’s findings could prove to be a groundbreaking advance in understanding aging.

“Aging is a pervasive process in all kingdoms of life,” Chang said. “We can’t go back and treat someone over their lifetime, so we took mice that lived a normal life, who were already old. We saw surprising results in two weeks.”

Chang and first author Adam Adler, a post-doctoral student in Chang’s cancer biology lab, found that turning off the NF-kB gene created a genetic cascade which, in a few weeks, resulted in thicker skin and increased cell division compared to controls.

“The NF-kB [gene] acts as a master switch,” Adler said. “[It] reversed many genetic changes in old tissue.”

Through a genetic lens, aging looks like a bunch of genes either turned on or off in specific “gene-expression patterns.” Inhibiting NF-kB promoted a youthful expression pattern once again in the skin of old mice.

These findings bolster the hypothesis that aging is genetically regulated and can thus be inhibited, contradicting the idea of aging as a process of wear and tear, said Tiara L.A. Kawahara, post-doctoral student in cancer biology, who looked at the specificity of the NF-kB mechanism.

Though some press sources are heralding the discovery as something akin to the fountain of youth, Kawahara and Adler disagreed.

“Because of the importance of the gene in other body activities,” Kawahara said, “we resist the idea of blocking the gene for the sake of looking younger.”

Chang agreed, citing the lack of long-term research on even the mice models they have studied.

“We are not aware if the effects are long-lasting, or if it creates permanent bad consequences,” he said.

According to Chang, another genetic process might kick in to compensate for turning off NF-kB.

Still, the fact that a single gene could have such a substantial effect gives the researchers hope.

“Aging is a complicated process,” Chang said. “But this study shows there are key switches that we can toggle for therapeutic benefits.”

One possibility for application, according to Kawahara, could help the skin of elderly people heal faster after surgery — a common problem in geriatric medicine.

Chang remained realistic about less helpful, beautification benefits of the study.

“Pharmaceutical companies currently use topical skin creams that block NF-kB,” he said. “But, [they are used] for other purposes. Further study [of NF-kB] on humans depends on safe medicines because all the tools used in the study were on mice.”

Researchers are concerned about the negative effects of manipulating this gene, which is critical to development and normal body function. Still, people are excited.

“We resist recommending blocking the gene for the sake of looking good,” said Kawahara.

“But my mom keeps saying,” Adler added, “‘let me know when you have human trials.’”