restless old men

"Aging cells" is a term for cells that have stopped doing what they are supposed to do, i.e. dividing. These cells accumulate with age, and their accumulation may contribute to the formation of a variety of diseases, including arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer. But why do these cells get stuck in the tissues and don't die?

The TV series "Scoundrels", based on Yoram Kaniuk's book, tells the story of aging Palmach fighters who embark on a murderous journey, with the aim of regaining a sense of relevance. In her absence, the aging warriors are willing to settle for revenge as well. The aging cells in our bodies, it turns out, sometimes behave as if they share the feelings of the heroes of the series: their presence can also be fatal. But in the study, recently published in the scientific journal Nature Communications., scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science, who worked in collaboration with scientists from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, found that there is a way that makes it possible to eliminate aging cells, which encourages the division of stem cells.

"Aging cells" is a term for cells that have stopped doing what they are supposed to do, i.e. dividing. These cells accumulate with age, and their accumulation may contribute to the formation of a variety of diseases, including arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer. But why do these cells get stuck in the tissues and don't die?

Dr. Valery Krizhnovsky And the members of his group, in the department of molecular biology of the cell, researched and found that in aging cells there is an accumulation of two proteins that belong to a family that inhibits cell suicide (the result of a kind of biological "software" contained in the cells, instructing them to commit suicide in order to allow the entire body to live a normal life). "We wanted to test whether an existing drug for the treatment of cancer, which was designed to inhibit the same proteins that prevent cell death, could also cause the death of aging cells," says Dr. Krizhnovsky. Indeed, in the experiment, the scientists discovered that the drug eliminated the aging cells from the bodies of mice. However, the absence of these cells was accompanied by an unexpected phenomenon: as soon as the aging cells were removed, the stem cells in the mouse hair follicles began to divide, and the hair follicle grew - even though these cells normally do not do so in the studied model. That is, the scientists discovered that, in fact, the presence of senescent cells in the tissue prevents cell regeneration.

"It is known that aging cells accumulate in tissues and develop resistance to death," says Dr. Krizhnovsky, "but in this study we discovered the molecular mechanism behind the phenomenon, and found a way to activate it or stop its action." The discovery may help in the treatment of diseases in which there is a presence of aging cells, and together with the ability to induce the regeneration of stem cells can open new research directions in relation to the aging of the body, and perhaps, in the future, even contribute to the extension of the average lifespan.

Reot Yosef, Dr. Noam Falfel, Dr. Anat Biran, Yossi Ovadia, Shanir Cohen, and Ezra Vadai from Dr. Krizhnovsky's laboratory at the Weizmann Institute of Science participated in the study; as well as Dr. Ronit Tokarski-Amiel, Liat Desa, Elisheva Shahar, and Dr. Riva Kandioti from the laboratory of Dr. Itai Ben-Forat from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.