# Partial reprogramming

Partial reprogramming tries to rejuvenate your cells without erasing what they are. It uses brief or low-dose 'Yamanaka factors' to roll cells back toward a younger state. But it stops short of turning them into stem cells (pluripotency). In mice, it restores youthful epigenetic patterns, improves tissue repair, and extends healthspan. The catch: full reprogramming can cause tumors (teratomas). So partial protocols aim to capture the rejuvenation while keeping cells functional. It is an active and hotly debated frontier, with safety and durability still being worked out. A milestone came in January 2026. Life Biosciences' ER-100 is a gene therapy expressing three Yamanaka factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, with c-Myc left out), injected into the eye. It became the first epigenetic-reprogramming rejuvenation therapy to get FDA IND clearance. A Phase 1 first-in-human trial (NCT07290244) is enrolling patients with a form of optic-nerve damage (NAION) and open-angle glaucoma.

## Sources

- Ocampo A, Reddy P, Martinez-Redondo P, et al.. (2016). In vivo amelioration of age-associated hallmarks by partial reprogramming. Cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.11.052
- Lu Y, Brommer B, Tian X, et al.. (2020). Reprogramming to recover youthful epigenetic information and restore vision. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2975-4

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_Canonical: https://longevity-switzerland.com/en/glossary/partial-reprogramming · Part of Longevity Cities · Updated 2026-06-22_