Can the aging of human cells be stopped?

Can we reverse the aging soon??

Many people wish that they can reverse their aging and be young again. Of course, this is not the case in reality, but researchers have come a bit closer to this goal in experiments. They managed to reverse the aging of human cells.

The researchers from the University of Exeter have succeeded in their study to reverse the aging of human cells. This could be the basis for future anti-degenerative drugs. The results of the study can be found in the English-language database "PubMed".

What are senescence cells??

Aging can be seen as a progressive decline in physical function and is often associated with the onset of chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and dementia. There are many reasons why cells and tissues cease to function, but a new focus in the biology of aging is the accumulation of senescent cells in tissues and organs, the experts explain. So-called senescence cells are older cells that no longer function as they should. In addition, they also affect the function of cells around them, the scientists explain.

What causes the removal of senescence cells?

Removal of these old dysfunctional cells has been shown to improve many characteristics of aging in animals. For example, the onset of cataracts was delayed. Researchers still do not fully understand why cells become senescent with age, but DNA damage has been previously thought to be the cause of inflammation and damage to the protective molecules at the end of the chromosomes (telomeres).

Genes need to be activated in the right place at the right time

An important part of senescence could be the loss of the ability to turn genes on and off at the right time and in the right place, say the experts. As people get older, bodies lose the ability to control how genes are regulated. Every cell in the body contains all the information needed for life, but not all genes are turned on in all tissues or in all conditions. For example, a heart cell may be different from a renal cell, even though they contain the same genes.

Genes generate different molecular messages

When a gene is activated by signals from inside or outside the cell, it generates a molecular message (called RNA) containing all the information needed to activate the production of the gene. More than 95 percent of human genes can actually generate different types of messages, depending on the needs of the cell. The decision as to what type of message is produced at a given time is made by a group of about 300 proteins called splice factors.

The amount of splicing factors decreases with age

As we get older, the amount of splicing factors that we can produce decreases. This means that older cells are less able to turn genes on and off to respond to changes in their environment. It has already been found that the levels of these important regulators in blood samples from older people and also in isolated senescent cells of different tissue types are decreasing, explain the physicians.

Hydrogen sulphide can improve the characteristics of age-related diseases

Experts have been looking for ways to re-activate the splicing factors. Treating old cells with a drug that releases small amounts of hydrogen sulfide has been shown to increase some splicing factors and rejuvenate old human cells. Hydrogen sulfide is a molecule that naturally occurs in the human body and has been shown to improve some of the characteristics of age-related diseases in animals.

Low doses of hydrogen sulfide resulted in fewer side effects

Hydrogen sulphide can also be toxic in large quantities, so physicians had to find a way to deliver hydrogen sulphide directly to the part of the cell where it is needed. A molecule could be brought directly into the mitochondria, the energy in cell-producing structures. As a result, tiny doses could be used, resulting in fewer side effects, the experts explain. In the future, scientists could use molecular instruments to remove senescent cells in living people. This would make it possible to fight several age-related diseases simultaneously, the researchers say. (As)