Collaboration will research the potential of the sirtuin SIRT6 in reversing the aging process in liver tissue and support Genflow’s preclinical trials.

Genflow has announced it has commenced a scientific research collaboration with the University of Rochester’s Aging Research Center (RoAR), one of the world’s pre-eminent age research facilities. This collaboration will initially research the potential of Sirtuin-6 (SIRT6) in reversing the aging process in liver tissue, and according to Genflow, is: “The first step towards a true rejuvenation gene therapy across a range of tissues.”

Longevity.Technology: Genflow is on a mission to increase understanding of the factors that control and impact lifespan, and is going from strength to strength this year, continuing to build on its IPO success with a grant award and now this new collaboration. The biotech hopes to increase healthspan and by targeting aging, leading to a decrease in healthcare costs and a lessening of the emotional and societal burden that comes with an aging population.

The collaborative sirtuin research will be spearheaded by a member of Genflow’s scientific advisory board, Dr Vera Gorbunova, who is also a co-director of RoAR and a leading scientist in the areas of DNA repair and the aging process.

The SIRT6 gene variant found in centenarians (people aged more than 100 years old) has previously demonstrated significant capabilities in epigenetic tissue rejuvenation. The ability of SIRT6 to act on the rejuvenation of cells is a significant finding, indicative of the SIRT6 gene mutation’s potential to not just halt the aging process, but to reverse it. Genflow uses adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to deliver copies of the SIRT6 gene variant directly into cells.

While the research collaboration will initially explore the ability of gene therapy for the rejuvenation of the liver, it could have significant implications beyond liver tissue and may indicate SIRT6’s potential across a range of tissue rejuvenation and, for longevity research, more widely. The data obtained from the collaboration will support the pre-clinical trials Genflow is undertaking and will expedite its development of gene therapies.

Genflow is a UK-based biotechnology company focused on longevity and the development of therapies to counteract the effects of aging and diseases associated with advanced age. It is the first longevity biotechnology company to list in Europe and seeks to be a reference company in the European longevity sector.