OSK Partial Reprogramming vs OSKM Cyclic Partial Reprogramming
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
Three Yamanaka factors against four. These are genes used to turn cells younger. Dropping MYC is a safety choice. The full set of four made a mouse live longer only in a mouse with a fast ageing disease, not a normal one. And the same move in living mice causes teratomas, a kind of tumour, and kidney tumours.
- OSK Partial Reprogramming people
- 0
- OSK Partial Reprogramming nulls
- 0
- OSKM Cyclic Partial Reprogramming people
- 0
- OSKM Cyclic Partial Reprogramming nulls
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result.
1 registered with no result
Dose
No human dose established
No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result.
6 animal studies, no human study
First-hand reports are counted on each profile and never added together. This page sets two published records side by side. It does not pick a winner.
Column A
OSK Partial ReprogrammingOSK partial reprogramming (transient expression of Oct4, Sox2 and Klf4)
Three of the four Yamanaka genes, switched on briefly to reset the ageing marks on DNA without wiping out what kind of cell it is. One early safety trial in people is signing up 18 people, with a shot into one eye. Every result showing a benefit is in mice.
Column B
OSKM Cyclic Partial ReprogrammingOSKM cyclic partial reprogramming (short cycles of Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc)
All four Yamanaka genes, switched on in short bursts. It made a mouse bred to age too fast live longer, not a normal mouse. The same move in living mice causes tumours, including in the kidney.
Side by side, on the facts we can check
| What we compare | OSK Partial Reprogramming | OSKM Cyclic Partial Reprogramming |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Longevity | Longevity |
| FDA status | Not approved in any country for any use. No reprogramming therapy has ever been approved. One investigational product, Life Biosciences ER-100, is in an early safety study that is signing up patients (NCT07290244). | Not approved anywhere. ClinicalTrials.gov lists no human study of OSKM reprogramming, which uses four genes. The only registered human reprogramming study uses the three-gene OSK set. |
| Half-life | Not reported | Not reported |
| Molecular weight | Not reported | Not reported |
| How it works | This is shown in mice. Switching on OSK partly wipes and rewrites the chemical tags on a cell's DNA, called methylation. It shifts them toward a younger pattern, without pushing the cell all the way back to a stem cell. In the 2020 optic nerve work, the benefit needed TET1 and TET2, the enzymes that strip those tags off. That is direct evidence the effect runs through the DNA tags, not through some general gene effect. In human cells, the only work is in a dish. Skin cells given OSK showed tag markers of reversed age in the 2024 Cellular Reprogramming paper. Nothing about how it works has been shown in a living person. | Shown in mice only. Short bursts of Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc push cells part way back toward being stem cells. That resets the chemical tags on DNA that go with age. If the burst is short enough, it stops before the cell loses what it is. Leaving the genes on all the time kills mice, through tumours and organ failure. That is why every method uses short bursts. How long and how much set the safe zone, and it has only been mapped in mice. None of this has been worked out in a person. |
| Studies in people | 1 | 0 |
| Evidence | Preliminary: 1 registered with no result | Animal or lab only: 6 animal studies, no human study |
| Legal status, US | Investigational, not approved | Investigational, not approved |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between OSK Partial Reprogramming and OSKM Cyclic Partial Reprogramming?
OSK Partial Reprogramming: Three of the four Yamanaka genes, switched on briefly to reset the ageing marks on DNA without wiping out what kind of cell it is. One early safety trial in people is signing up 18 people, with a shot into one eye. Every result showing a benefit is in mice. OSKM Cyclic Partial Reprogramming: All four Yamanaka genes, switched on in short bursts. It made a mouse bred to age too fast live longer, not a normal mouse. The same move in living mice causes tumours, including in the kidney.
Which has stronger research evidence, OSK Partial Reprogramming or OSKM Cyclic Partial Reprogramming?
Each compound gets a band worked out from facts we counted, with the math shown. OSK Partial Reprogramming is Preliminary (1 registered with no result). OSKM Cyclic Partial Reprogramming is Animal or lab only (6 animal studies, no human study). That counts how much has been done in people. It does not rate whether either one works, and neither one is called the winner.
Are OSK Partial Reprogramming and OSKM Cyclic Partial Reprogramming FDA-approved?
OSK Partial Reprogramming: Not approved in any country for any use. No reprogramming therapy has ever been approved. One investigational product, Life Biosciences ER-100, is in an early safety study that is signing up patients (NCT07290244).. OSKM Cyclic Partial Reprogramming: Not approved anywhere. ClinicalTrials.gov lists no human study of OSKM reprogramming, which uses four genes. The only registered human reprogramming study uses the three-gene OSK set..
Reviewed Sep 2026. This page puts two published records side by side. It is for learning, and it is not medical advice. When this site shows a dose, it is the dose a trial or a clinic actually used, or what people say they did, with the source attached. None of it tells you what to take.