ArticleEMBO molecular medicine2012
Telomerase gene therapy in adult and old mice delays aging and increases longevity without increasing cancer.
Article in EMBO molecular medicine, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04058678 (Effects of Telomerase Reactivation With Danazol in Ovarian Function.), which is not on this map. Cited by 240 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of Telomerase Reactivation With Danazol in Ovarian Function.
Who cites it
240 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 517 citations in OpenAlex.
- Shorter Telomeres and Faster Telomere Attrition in Individuals With Five Syndromic Forms of Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR · 2025Pooled it
- Physical Activity on Telomere Length as a Biomarker for Aging: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Τelomerase inhibitors and activators in aging and cancer: A systematic review.Molecular medicine reports · 2022Pooled it
- Telomerase activation in the treatment of aging or degenerative diseases: a systematic review.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- AAV9 Gene Therapy for Ovarian Dysfunction and Reproductive Aging: Molecular Mechanisms, Therapeutic Targets, and Translational Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The Hallmarks of Aging: From Molecular Mechanisms to Clinical Translation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- STING deficiency does not rescue short telomere-mediated aging phenotypes and longevity in TERC- or TERT-telomerase deficient mice.Cell reports · 2026Article
- Telomere-associated non-malignant pulmonary diseases: Pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic strategies.Acta pharmaceutica Sinica. B · 2026Review
- Clinical rationale for thymic restoration in adult immunosenescence.Immunity & ageing : I & A · 2026Review
- Review
- Review
- Investigating the potential of Ulva rigida extracts as a natural anti-aging agent in cosmetics.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Mathematical modelling of premature haematopoietic ageing in dyskeratosis congenita.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Improvement of fertility in female mice by treatment with novel telomerase-increasing compounds.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2026Article
- Molecular evolution of animal aging.The EMBO journal · 2026Review
- Optimized Yamanaka factors combined with TERT gene therapy for enhanced anti-aging effects.Genes & diseases · 2026Article
- Targeting Telomerase in Cancer: Vaccine-Based Strategies, Clinical Evidence, and Synergy with Immunotherapy.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The tight bond between Fanconi anemia and aging.Frontiers in aging · 2026Review
180 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
A major goal in aging research is to improve health during aging. In the case of mice, genetic manipulations that shorten or lengthen telomeres result, respectively, in decreased or increased longevity. Based on this, we have tested the effects of a telomerase gene therapy in adult (1 year of age) and old (2 years of age) mice. Treatment of 1- and 2-year old mice with an adeno associated virus (AAV) of wide tropism expressing mouse TERT had remarkable beneficial effects on health and fitness, including insulin sensitivity, osteoporosis, neuromuscular coordination and several molecular biomarkers of aging. Importantly, telomerase-treated mice did not develop more cancer than their control littermates, suggesting that the known tumorigenic activity of telomerase is severely decreased when expressed in adult or old organisms using AAV vectors. Finally, telomerase-treated mice, both at 1-year and at 2-year of age, had an increase in median lifespan of 24 and 13%, respectively. These beneficial effects were not observed with a catalytically inactive TERT, demonstrating that they require telomerase activity. Together, these results constitute a proof-of-principle of a role of TERT in delaying physiological aging and extending longevity in normal mice through a telomerase-based treatment, and demonstrate the feasibility of anti-aging gene therapy.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.