In addition to the work of our Research Center SENS Foundation conducts key, extra-mural research through a variety of affiliated universities and research organizations.
Recent news and updates
04/08/10 by Rob OCallahan from Clearing cells of age-related wastes
Proving the Principle
I am working on a new experiment with nonspecific peroxidase enzymes and ALE-modified proteins. I am reacting BSA with malondialdehyde (MDA) to modify it with fluorescent crosslinks, which I can measure using ELISA. I will then react common, non-specific enzymes like horseradish peroxidase (HRP) with the modified BSA and measure if any of the crosslink was degraded. If I can show that an enzyme like HRP is able to access ALE modifications on a protein surface, this would show some promise for using enzymes to degrade damaged proteins in vivo.
03/08/10 by Jacques Mathieu from Clearing cells of age-related wastes
LysoSENS Progress and Prospects
The 7KC-degrading bacterium I’ve been studying, Rhodococcus jostii RHA1, has two large gene clusters that are up-regulated by 7KC, but not cholesterol. In these two gene clusters lie a number of enzymes we believe are involved in 7KC degradation, including an enzyme that could reduce the 7-keto group to a hydroxyl. What makes this interesting to us is that while 7KC is highly cytotoxic, 7α-hydroxycholesterol (7αOH) is relatively harmless. So I am now methodically going through suspected candidates, searching for reductase activity against 7KC.
16/03/10 by Jacques Mathieu from Clearing cells of age-related wastes
Introducing Jacques
It was early 2005 when I first read about SENS. I had already applied to several graduate schools at that time and was waiting to hear back, but as I delved into that article in Popular Science I knew this was something I wanted to be involved in. A lot of people were studying aging, but no one had a plan like this. I emailed Aubrey and it wasn't long before I was headed to Rice University in Houston; first to perform some preliminary research into the LysoSENS project, and then to begin a PhD studying microbial oxysterol degradation.
16/03/10 by Ben Zealley from Extra-mural Research
Welcome to the extra-mural program homepage.
In addition to the core work conducted at our own Research Center, SENS Foundation has always supported projects hosted at world-class academic labs around the world. Our extra-mural program allows us to leverage the unique skills, knowledge, and assets of our collaborators to achieve critical breakthroughs in regenerative medicine.