Biologists rejuvenated mice by "linking" their blood vessels to young individuals
Researchers have presented the results of an unusual experiment that slows cellular aging.An international group of researchers used surgery to connect the blood circulatory systems of old and young mice. After 12 weeks, the aging process at the cellular level slowed down in the older individuals, and life expectancy increased by an average of 10%.
At the cellular level, the coupling of blood systems dramatically reduced the epigenetic age of blood and liver tissue. In addition, it caused changes in gene expression opposing aging but resembling some other life-extending interventions. The rejuvenation effect persisted even after two months after blood system separation.
The findings suggest that young people benefit from a cocktail of components and chemicals in their blood that promotes vitality, the scientists said. These factors could potentially be highlighted as therapies to accelerate healing, rejuvenate the body and increase longevity.
From a human perspective, exposure to the blood-brain connection would be equivalent to linking a 50-year-old and an 18-year-old for about eight years, resulting in an eight-year increase in a person's life expectancy. While this reality of such a long-lasting connection is questionable, the researchers hope to isolate key factors and use them for therapy.
"The elements that drive this are what's important, and they're not yet known. Are they proteins or metabolites? Are they new cells that the young mouse is producing, or is the young mouse just buffering the old, aging-inducing blood? That's what we hope to find out next," James White, a co-author of the study from Duke University.