OneSkin Notable Mention: LifeSpan Episode 6 | The Science of Looking Younger, Longer with Dr. David Sinclair

Reference Lab

MAR 10, 2022

Sinclair recently started a podcast, called Lifespan with Dr. David Sinclair, which has quickly gained a cult-like following from biohackers and longevity enthusiasts alike. Specifically, the podcast explores the science behind why we age and emerging interventions for slowing and even reversing aging.

Given Sinclair's scientific accolades and reputation within the longevity space, it is with great honor that OneSkin was organically featured in one of Sinclair’s latest episodes: Episode 6 | The Science of Looking Younger, Longer. During this episode, Dr. Sinclair and co-host, Matthew LaPlante, discuss why superficial aging occurs and how external signs of aging can be a good indicator of systemic biological age, highlighting the latest science behind various cosmetic therapies that may have age-reversal effects for the body.

Throughout this episode (specifically minutes 21:00 - 30:00), Dr. Sinclair and LaPlante discuss key research performed by OneSkin Co-Founder and Head of Bioinformatics, Dr. Mariana Boroni. In particular, they discuss her development of a skin-specific molecular clock (MolClock), which can measure the biological age of skin, and how this has enabled OneSkin to identify and validate peptides that demonstrate anti-aging properties - The most effective of which is OneSkin’s proprietary peptide, OS-01, which sits at the core of OneSkin’s product formulations.

It should be noted that all mentions of OneSkin were completely organic and not sponsored financially or otherwise by OneSkin.

LaPlante : “Mariana Boroni, who’s a friend and colleague of [Dr. Sinclair’s] from Brazil. She led a study that was published in 2020 showing that when you do this, when you build this epigenetic clock based on methylation of skin cells, it does predict biological age quite well” (21:36 - 21:55).

Each tissue and organ has a different biological age, the combination of which lends to a person's overall biological age. Thus, the most accurate molecular clocks are those that are specifically designed and programmed for the tissue or organ in question. (Read more here.) That is why Dr. Boroni and the OneSkin team developed MolClock: The first molecular clock specific to skin, able to reliably and accurately predict the biological age of skin.

During the podcast, LaPlante and Sinclair reference MolClock and the studies that Dr. Boroni performed in order to validate her algorithm as a good indicator of biological age. Boroni developed the MolClock algorithm by using Machine Learning to identify age-related epigenetic alterations, specifically methylation profiles, in skin cells. Over 500 human skin samples and over 2,000 DNA methylation markers were used to train and test the algorithm! (3)

LaPlante : “And that was part of this study by Mariana Boroni as well, they looked at the application of senolytic drugs to these skin cells and then measured the results.” (23:20 - 23:35)

Sinclair : “What they found was that those skin explants, as they’re called, grew thicker, which is what you want if you’re reversing aging.“ (24:46 - 24:53)

In order to measure the efficacy of various senolytic compounds, compounds thought to reduce cellular senescence, the OneSkin team grew human skin models (“explants”) from donor cells, then exposed those “explants'' to various senolytic compounds and tested the effects using various techniques. The first of which involved utilizing beta-galactoside, a die that turns senescent cells blue, to count the reduction in senescent cells with exposure to various senotherapeutic molecules. They also measured skin health markers, such as epidermal thickness, and utilized MolClock to quantify the rejuvenation capabilities of these senotherapeutic molecules. Sinclair and LaPlante describe these studies performed by Dr. Boroni in which she treated skin explants with common senolytic compounds and identified that the skin explants grew thicker, showing positive signs of rejuvenation. Furthermore, the MolClock demonstrated that these treatments successfully reduced the biological age of the skin cells. (2)

Sinclair : “And one of them she’s actually put into a product that she sent me to try the other day. It’s called OneSkin. I’m not an advisor to this group or anything, but it did seem to work. It looked just as good as Retin-A which is the leading product that is used to reduce lines and fine wrinkles.” (29:10 - 29:25)

Using the scientific techniques described above, Dr. Boroni screened and validated over 700 peptides to identify those with quantifiable age-reversal effects. She was successful, uncovering 20 such peptides, the most effective of which is OneSkin's proprietary peptide, OS-01, sitting at the core of all OneSkin product formulations. Dr. Sinclair discusses how she made this discovery and his experience using OneSkin’s OS-01 Topical Supplement, stating that OneSkin's product appeared to have the same effect as Retinol, a gold-standard ingredient in anti-aging skincare for its famed ability to reduce wrinkles and improve plumpness of skin.

What Sinclair doesn’t discuss is the fact that retinol has many drawbacks, including the potential to compromise long-term skin health (read more about retinol’s effects on skin here) by promoting the expression of genes associated with aging and inflammation. Nevertheless, Sinclair’s experience rings true to the fact that OneSkin’s OS-01 Topical Supplement is an effective and safe alternative to retinol. (2)

LaPlante : “Because again, what we're talking about is the body's largest organ and it's not a system unto itself and interacts with all these other systems. So if we have senescent cells secreting these cytokines all over the place, they're not just staying in the skin. They're going to move to other places too. If you can lower the age of the skin, you can save the rest of the body.” (25:15 - 25:39)

Finally, Sinclair and LaPlante recognize that as our body's largest organ and the tissue most exposed to DNA damage from UV radiation, if you can decrease senescent burden in skin and lower skin's biological age, you can impact the rejuvenation of your entire system. That’s because senescent cells secrete inflammatory factors, called cytokines, which promote system-wide inflammation - a leading cause of age-related and chronic diseases. (Read more about how skin health impacts your overall health here.) If the build up of senescent cells in skin can be prevented or reduced, you can prevent system-wide inflammation and potentially hinder the onset of chronic diseases with age. (1)

We at OneSkin are honored to have our research and our Co-founder, Dr. Boroni, recognized by Dr. David Sinclair, who serves as a reputable leader in the longevity and biohacking space. We are thrilled that Sinclair recognizes the importance of skin health and its impact on our body’s health. Indeed, reversing skin aging has the potential to impact the rejuvenation of the rest of the body and OneSkin is a proud pioneer and leader in this pursuit!

• Sinclair's podcast, LifeSpan | Episode 6, discusses how to slow, stop or reverse the aging process of the skin and several emerging technologies that can reverse aging.
• Dr. Mariana Boroni, OneSkin Co-Founder & Head of Bioinformatics, has developed the first skin-specific molecular clock, which can accurately predict the biological age of skin.
• Sinclair and co-host, Matthew LaPlante, discuss the anti-senescence properties of OneSkin's proprietary peptide, OS-01, and its potential to prevent and reverse senescent burden in skin, thereby rejuvenating skin at the cellular level.
• Sinclair, who personally uses OneSkin's OS-01 Topical Supplement, compares its results to those of retinol, known to be a leading anti-aging ingredient, stating that its effects are comparable. Given the fact that retinol has the potential to compromise long-term skin health if overused during a long period of time, OS-01 proves to be a safe and healthy alternative to retinol.

References

• [1] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-science-of-looking-younger-longer-episode-6/id1601709306?i=1000550533635
• [2] https://www.oneskin.co/blogs/reference-lab/oneskin-launches-molclock-the-first-skin-specific-molecular-clock-to-determine-the-biological-age-of-human-skin
• [3] https://www.oneskin.co/blogs/reference-lab/oneskin-launches-molclock-the-first-skin-specific-molecular-clock-to-determine-the-biological-age-of-human-skin