At the center of the aging process are senescent cells – cells that are old, decrepit, and have lost their ability to reproduce sprightly young versions of themselves.
These elderly cells often are at the root of diseases and general decline associated with aging, from wrinkled skin to systemic inflammation.
So-called “senolytic” drugs, approved by the FDA in 2020, have shown some ability to sweep senescent cells from the body, but the drugs don’t do a reliable job of telling healthy cells from the infirm and may wash out some of the good with the bad.
The body has a better way to expel the old cells: immune cells called invariant natural killer T cells (iNKTs) track down the oldsters and escort them out. But iNKTs also lose their pizzaz with age and leave too many senescent cells in place.
At the University of California at San Francisco, bioscientists decided to find a way to naturally bring iNKTs back to life so they can continue to clear away these cellular seeds of old age.
In tests, the researchers discovered that certain fat cells stimulate an immune response that re-energizes iNKT production.
The treatment reduced fat cells in obese mice and reduced their blood sugar levels; rodents with lung fibrosis reduced the concentration of fibers, easing symptoms.
TRENDPOST: The novel approach to clearing senescent cells allows scientists to think about using the tools of immunology to counter the aging process, not with alien synthetic compounds from Big Pharma but by enhancing the body’s own substances.
This is another instance pointing to medicine’s future not as a drug delivery system but as an assistant to the body’s own biochemicals and natural processes.
