Making Old Blood Young Again Slows Down Aging

Could We Slow Aging by Rejuvenating Old Blood Stem Cells? Drugs used for arthritis may overturn aging effects on the blood system in mice.

An anti-inflammatory drug used for rheumatoid arthritis can revitalize and overturn some of the effects of aging on the blood system in mice, according to a new study published in Nature Cell Biology.

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‘Blocking inflammatory signals in damaged bone marrow with an anti-inflammatory drug, remarkably returned the blood stem cells to a younger state.’

Aging Blood Systems

Previous research has shown that blood from young people can have rejuvenating and restorative effects when added to older bodies. Older hearts and muscles increase in strength while cognitive skills like thinking are sharpened.

Scientists are now looking to identify if some of the benefits of young blood could be targeted and replicated with medication. In the new study, researchers found that rejuvenating the body’s system that produces blood may be a viable option. These results indicate that such strategies hold promise for maintaining healthier blood production in the elderly.

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Giving Blood Cell Production a New Lease on Life

The researchers identified the effects of the drug anakinra – already approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis – after analyzing the blood cell-producing (hematopoietic) stem cells in our bone marrow.

All blood cells are produced by hematopoietic stem cells, but these can become affected by age over time. Gradually, they produce fewer red and white blood cells which can lead to anemia and increased risk of infection. Their ability to protect their DNA from errors can also become impaired, increasing the risk of blood cancers.

Previous attempts to revitalize hematopoietic stem cells in mice – including through exercise, calorie-restrictive diets, and transplants of young stem cells into bone marrow – have all failed to produce the desired effects. In the current study, researchers investigated the environment – or niche – that the stem cells are found in, instead of the cells themselves.

They found evidence of inflammation and deterioration in the aging hematopoietic stem cell niche that could be responsible for their loss of function. The inflammatory signal interleukin-1 beta (IL-1B) was released from the damaged niche and promoted the features of aging.

Giving these mice the rheumatoid arthritis drug anakinra, which blocks the action of IL-1B, returned their blood stem cells to a much healthier state.

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Treating Human Patients?

Next, the research team wants to find out if the same process could also work in humans in clinical testing, and if improving the health of the stem cell niche earlier in life, such as in middle age, could have even more youthful rejuvenating effects.

Many societies have added more than 30 years to life expectancy in the past century. Now it is imperative to conduct the science to determine how to create health and well-being across the full length of those lives.

This must include research to understand the mechanisms of normal aging and how to fully develop the huge opportunities to create healthy longevity for all.

Source-Eurekalert

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