# Gene therapy (in longevity context)

Gene therapy delivers genetic material to add, silence, or edit genes — typically via AAV vectors for stable transgene expression and lipid nanoparticles for transient nucleic-acid delivery (e.g., mRNA, gene-editing components). Longevity targets include telomerase (TERT), follistatin, Klotho, and partial reprogramming via OSK (the three Yamanaka factors Oct4, Sox2 and Klf4 — omitting c-Myc to reduce oncogenicity). Rodent data are strong for some constructs, but human applications remain pre-clinical or run as small offshore or patient-paid programs outside FDA-regulated frameworks (BioViva, Libella). Risks include immunogenicity, oncogenicity, and off-target editing; no anti-aging gene therapy is approved.

## Sources

- Yu C, Li J, Sun Y, Pan X, Liu J, Hou L. (2023). Gene therapy strategies targeting aging-related diseases. Aging and Disease. https://doi.org/10.14336/ad.2022.00725
- López-Otín C, Blasco MA, Partridge L et al.. (2023). Hallmarks of Aging: An Expanding Universe. Cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.11.001

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_Canonical: https://longevity-austria.com/en/glossary/gene-therapy-longevity · Part of Longevity Cities · Updated 2026-05-07_