Researchers discover cells in sea anemones that could make them immortal

Sea anemones (Nematostella vectensis) may be able to achieve immortality. Using molecular genetic methods, developmental biologists led by Ulrich Technau of the University of Vienna have discovered for the first time in sea anemones possible candidates for pluripotent stem cells. These stem cells are regulated by genes that are highly conserved during evolution and are usually only active in the formation of egg and sperm cells in humans, but which give ancient animal phyla (such as cnidarians) a high degree of regenerative capacity and even the ability to escape aging.

Scientists have discovered stem cells in sea anemones, which could explain their seemingly eternal life. The discovery could also affect our understanding of human aging and disease, as shown in the photo of an individual sea anemone. Source: Yulia Kraus

The research, currently published in the journal Science Advances, could also shed light on the human aging process in the future.

"We live as long as our stem cells," is a bold statement, but it is basically accurate. Stem cells help humans to constantly renew various cells and tissues, such as blood cells, skin or hair. If stem cells lose this ability or decrease in number during life, the human body will age or develop disease. Therefore, stem cells are of great significance to biomedical research.
While humans and most vertebrates can only regenerate certain organs or parts of limbs, other groups of animals possess much more powerful regeneration mechanisms. This ability is due to multipotent or pluripotent stem cells, which can form (differentiate) almost all cell types in the human body. The sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) also has a strong regenerative capacity: it can reproduce asexually by budding and shows no signs of aging, making it an interesting subject for stem cell research. However, researchers have not yet been able to find any stem cells in these animals.

Using new "single-cell genomics" methods, Technau and his team can identify these cells based on their specific transcriptome profiles of cells in complex organisms and determine which stem cells they developed from. "By combining single-cell gene expression analysis with transgenic techniques, we have now been able to identify a large number of cells in sea anemones that form differentiated cells such as nerve cells and gland cells and are therefore candidates for pluripotent stem cells," explains first author Andreas Denner from the University of Vienna. Due to their tiny size, they remained undiscovered until now. "

These potential stem cells expressed the evolutionarily highly conserved genes nanos and piwi, which enable the development of germ cells (sperm and egg cells) in all animals, including humans. By specifically mutating the gene nanos2 using the CRISPR gene scissors, the scientists were able to demonstrate that this gene is required for the formation of germ cells in sea anemones. Studies in other animals have also shown that this gene is essential for the production of gametes.

This proves that this gene function appeared about 600 million years ago and has been conserved to this day. In future studies, Ulrich-Ternau and his team want to investigate which special properties of sea anemone stem cells are responsible for their potential immortality.