Anti-aging factor of parabiosis
Surgical connection of an old mouse with a young mouse to create a common blood flow improves the health of the former, which makes this system (parabiosis) one of the most popular techniques in the field of aging studies. Researchers at the Buck Institute, working under the guidance of Professor Heinrich Jasper, have established that one of the factors providing a rejuvenating effect in parabiosis is the mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF). In addition, the authors demonstrated that the natural, preserved in the course of evolution, damage repair mechanism protects the liver of old mice and increases the life expectancy of fruit flies drosophila.
The level of MANF, which regulates metabolism and immune responses in fruit flies, mice and humans, decreases with age. The reasons for this age-related decline are unclear, but MANF deficiency has obvious manifestations. Genetically modified fruit flies with reduced MANF expression suffer from increased levels of chronic inflammation and have a shorter life expectancy. Mice with a similar defect are characterized by an increased inflammatory status in many tissues, as well as progressive liver damage and the development of its fatty infiltration. When creating a parabiosis between normal old mice and young animals with a MANF gene defect, young blood did not have a rejuvenating effect.
During further experiments, the authors found out that the liver rejuvenation that occurs during parabiosis depends on MANF. In addition, they demonstrated that the administration of MANF to old mice slows down the aging of the liver, prevents the development of its fatty degeneration in animals kept on a fat-rich diet, and also reduces the severity of age-related metabolic disorders.
The authors note that, apparently, MANF regulates the mechanisms of inflammation that accompanies many age-related diseases. They hope that its effects extend not only to the liver and plan to study the effect of this protein on the aging of other tissues.
According to Jasper, systemic therapy that can delay or prevent the development of age-related diseases is a cherished dream of researchers studying the problems of aging. Given the ability of MANF to modulate the functions of the immune system, its introduction as a systemic anti-aging therapy looks like a very attractive prospect. However, one should proceed very carefully, since the effect of MANF on other tissues and organs is still unknown today. To begin with, the researchers plan to find out its effect on the lifespan of mice.
Article by Pedro Sousa-Victor et al. MANF regulates metabolic and immune homeostasis in aging and protects against liver damage published in the journal Nature Metabolism.
Evgenia Ryabtseva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru according to the materials of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging: MANF identified as a rejuvenating factor in parabiosis.