New strategy to make blood stem cells healthier
Our bone marrow contains hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which are responsible for producing all our blood cells. These include the immune cells we need to protect ourselves from bacteria and virus. Our HSCs lose efficiency and ability to produce healthy blood cells as we age. Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine found in a study that was published today online in Nature that the reduction in HSC efficiency can be attributed to the decline of chaperone mediated autophagy, the process of removing damaged proteins and waste materials from cells that interferes with their ability to function.
While the aging of our HSCs is inevitable, there is good news: it may be reversed,\” said Ana Maria Cuervo M.D. Ph.D. Professor of developmental and molecular biology, of anatomical and structural biology and of medicine at Einstein, as well as the Robert and Renee Belfer chair for the study of neurodegenerative diseases. Our studies on mice indicate that drugs developed by Einstein could activate CMA, and possibly restore the vitality to HSCs of older people.
Source:
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-strategy-blood-stem-cells-healthier.html
