An anti-aging therapy could be one step closer; in a new study, researchers reveal how a peptide led to the destruction of cells that play a role in aging, reversing fur loss, kidney damage, and frailty in mice. <\/p>\n
The research describes how the peptide stops levels of a protein called FOXO4 from increasing in senescent cells, which are cells that lose the ability to replicate and destroy themselves, but which remain metabolically active. <\/p>\n
Senescent cells accumulate with age, and studies have shown that they can contribute to the aging process by causing damage to neighboring cells and impairing tissue function. <\/p>\n
Previous research has shown that in senescent cells, levels of FOXO4 rise to prevent another protein called p53 from prompting the cells' self-destruction. <\/p>\n
By blocking FOXO4 with the peptide, the research team has been able to restore programmed cell death, or apoptosis, in senescent cells. <\/p>\n
\"Only in senescent cells does this peptide cause cell death,\" says senior author Peter de Keizer, a researcher of aging at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands. <\/p>\n
\"FOXO4 is barely expressed in non-senescent cells, so that makes the peptide interesting, as the FOXO4-p53 interaction is especially relevant to those cells, but not normal cells.\" <\/p>\n
On administering the peptide to fast-aging mice in regular doses, the researchers were able to reverse age-related conditions, such as fur loss and poor kidney health. <\/p>\n
The findings were recently published in the journal Cell. <\/p>\n
For their study, the researchers tested the peptide on older mice that had aged naturally and mice that had been genetically modified to age rapidly. <\/p>\n
Both groups of mice developed characteristics and health problems commonly associated with aging, such as loss of fur, a decline in kidney health, and frailty. <\/p>\n
Some of the rodents in each group were given infusions of the peptide three times a week for 10 months, while the remaining mice were monitored as controls. <\/p>\n
Both the fast-aging and naturally aged mice saw improvements with peptide treatment, with no apparent side effects. <\/p>\n
Within 10 days, the fast-aging mice began to experience fur regrowth. After 3 weeks, the naturally aged mice began to see improvements in fitness, compared with mice that did not receive the peptide. <\/p>\n
Additionally, both the fast-aging and naturally aged mice started to demonstrate improvements in kidney function from 1 month after peptide treatment. <\/p>\n
The team notes that the effects of peptide treatment were was so strong in fast-aging mice that doses needed to be reduced over the study period. <\/p>\n
The researchers say that their findings support previous research showing that targeting senescent cells can help to reverse aging and increase lifespan, though much more research is warranted. <\/p>\n
\"The common thread I see for the future of anti-aging research is that there are three fronts in which we can improve: the prevention of cellular damage and senescence, safe therapeutic removal of senescent cells, to stimulate stem cells - no matter the strategy - to improve tissue regeneration once senescence is removed,\" says de Keizer. <\/p>\n
He and his colleagues now plan to conduct a clinical trial to assess the safety of the peptide in humans. <\/p>\n
Learn how exercise prevents cellular aging by increasing mitochondrial capacity. <\/p>\n
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\nAnti-aging peptide recovers fur growth, kidney health in mice - Medical News Today<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"