A white blood cell in our bodies could give extended youth
BIOLOGY
The ‘fountain of youth’ is not locked away in a sorcerer’s stone or mythical water source, according to new research. In fact, scientists in the US say the key to slowing ageing is hiding in our bodies.
Published in Nature Aging, the new research reveals that the trick to anti-ageing lies within the white blood cells, known as T cells. The scientists behind the research discovered that they can reprogramme these cells to turn them into ageing-cell killing machines, called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells.
When they tested the treatment on mice, the mice went on to live healthier lives, with lower body weights, improved metabolism and glucose tolerance, and increased physical activity. And all without any tissue damage or toxicity.
“If we give it to aged mice, they rejuvenate. If we give it to young mice, they age slower. No other therapy right now can do this,” said Corina Amor Vegas, one of the researchers and Assistant Professor at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Long Island, New York.
The researchers are calling this treatment the ‘living drug’. That’s because, when genetically modified, the CAR T cells actively attack a group of cells known as ‘senescent cells’. Senescent cells are responsible for many of the conditions and diseases we get as we grow old, such as obesity and diabetes. We accumulate more of them as the years go by and this builds up harmful infl
