• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1515-1522
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• 2017

Most people have a desire to live longer. According to ancient Chinese and Korean mythology, Dongfang Shuo (Dongbang Sahk) lived for 18,000 years. According to a WHO report, the average longevity of humans has extended from 50-odd years in the 1960s to 75-85 years in 2016. Parabiosis, the joining to circulatory systems of two animals, was described as early as the 1860s. It provides a powerful experimental model to investigate the effects of one animal on its partner animal in vivo. Research on reverse aging is an immensely popular in parabiosis studies. In this review, the origin of the parabiosis model and important historical findings based on parabiosis models are presented. Surprising and debated discoveries in aging research are also introduced. Using heterochronic parabiosis of connecting circulatory systems of a young mouse and old mouse, various groups claim to have identified a reverse aging factor, growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11), which was significantly reduced in blood of old mice. Although the potential existence of any one factor or factors that could reverse aging remains to be confirmed, studies have shown that the parabiosis model is powerful enough to detect reverse aging factors.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.208-215
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• 2023

In recent decades, the field of aging research has progressed from the genetic and cellular levels to in vivo models of blood exchange. Since genes capable of extending the lifespan in C. elegance have been reported, various potential target molecules have been discovered through genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and transcriptomics. Accordingly, research on the interactions between target molecules has also been increasing. The parabiosis method, in which two experimental animals are surgically combined, was introduced, and a factor that could reverse the aging phenomenon was discovered using this method. The parabiosis method is used to find more accurate and effective aging-reversal factors that could exist in young blood. As more new evidence has been revealed, the parabiosis method has established a new paradigm for aging research. Moreover, a device capable of exchanging blood elaborately in laboratory animals was published in 2022 and presented new results necessary for aging reversal. Since GDF11, was reported, many other anti-aging candidates that are soluble factors in blood, such as β2m, TIMP2, VCAM1, Gpld1, and clusterin, have been discovered. In addition, mcicroglia cells and neuroinflammation have been directly proven to be aging factors. These latest research results were obtained by parabiosis, the newly designed device for plasmapheresis, and injecting young blood or conditioned blood methods. In this review, we discuss the latest research results using the device and young blood administration in old mice.