Saul Villeda, PhD

Associate Professor
Department of Anatomy
Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research
+1 415 502-1929
Research Description: 

My lab has previously shown that systemic manipulations such as heterochronic parabiosis (in which the circulatory system of an old and young animal are connected), administration of young blood plasma, or administration of exercise-induced blood factors can partially reverse age-related loss of plasticity in the aged brain. As a consequence, we can now consider reactivating latent plasticity dormant in the aged brain as a means to rejuvenate regenerative, synaptic and cognitive functions late in life. Interestingly, work from my lab has revealed bi-directionality in the influence of the systemic environment indicating pro-youthful factors in young blood or following exercise elicit rejuvenation while pro-aging factors in old blood drive pre-mature aging. Our work has further indicated that mitigating the effect of pro-aging factors in old blood may also provide an effective approach to rejuvenate aging phenotypes. The goal of my research program is to elucidate cellular and molecular mechanisms that can be targeted to halt the aging process or promote rejuvenation in the old brain, as a means to counteract dementia-related neurodegenerative disease in the elderly, providing a unique therapeutic approach.

Primary Thematic Area: 
Neurobiology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
Mechanisms of Brain Aging and Rejuvenation

Websites

Publications: 

Prenatal delivery of a therapeutic antisense oligonucleotide achieves broad biodistribution in the brain and ameliorates Angelman Syndrome phenotype in mice.

Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy

Clarke MT, Remesal L, Lentz L, Tan DJ, Young D, Thapa S, Namduri S, Borges B, Kirn G, Valencia J, Lopez ME, Lu JH, Shiow LR, Dindot S, Villeda S, Sanders SJ, MacKenzie TC

Plasma rejuvenation factor GDF11 associates with amyloid-related cognitive decline in older adults across the Alzheimer’s Disease spectrum.

Alzheimer's & Dementia

Shannon Y. Lee, Emily W. Paolillo, Rowan Saloner, Anna M VandeBunte, Gil D. Rabinovici, Renaud La Joie, Joel H. Kramer, Saul Villeda, Kaitlin B. Casaletto

Brain-Derived CCN3 Is An Osteoanabolic Hormone That Sustains Bone in Lactating Females.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology

Babey ME, Krause WC, Herber CB, Chen K, Nikkanen J, Rodriquez R, Zhang X, Castro-Navarro F, Wang Y, Villeda S, Lane NE, Scheller EL, Chan CKF, Ambrosi TH, Ingraham HA

Neuronal activation of Gαq EGL-30/GNAQ late in life rejuvenates cognition across species.

Cell reports

Stevenson ME, Bieri G, Kaletsky R, St Ange J, Remesal L, Pratt KJB, Zhou S, Weng Y, Murphy CT, Villeda SA

Platelet factors are induced by longevity factor klotho and enhance cognition in young and aging mice.

Nature Aging

Park C, Hahn O, Gupta S, Moreno AJ, Marino F, Kedir B, Wang D, Villeda SA, Wyss-Coray T, Dubal DB