TECHNIQUE TO DELAY AGING OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.

The immune system is also aging. Specifically T cells, which are key in detecting foreign bodies for disposal, are losing their properties over time, which explains, for example, why older people are more prone to getting infections. The process by which this occurs has been published in   Nature Immunology.

Are involved in several process routes (p38 gene, AMPK), providing alternatives to act on them. The idea is to reactivate the immune system to strengthen it when infection arises or to turn in immunotherapies against cancer, for example. In fact, there are drugs that act on the p38 (present in some cancers).

Another option would be to use gene therapy to modify lymphocytes and they lost the ability to age. For example, the metabolic sensor activates AMPK p38 which, in turn, makes no express telomerase. This enzyme is essential to maintain the integrity of the genetic information in cell division and to inhibit this process is prevented. The consequence, in the absence of aging, is that no mutations (changes in the DNA leading to anomalous behavior of the cells), and the process stops.

AMPK also acts when it detects low blood glucose (the basic nutrient cells), and activates a savings that reduces cell division (and thus, aging).

The process, however, has another reading, and how important is to find the balance. The aging of the cells and consequent inactivation is a mechanism of protection against mutations that have been acquired. So when rejuvenate must take this into account with their potential risks (an autoimmune reaction, for example).

Ref: Nature Immunology