The results will help in the development of methods for treating multiple sclerosis and the study of the aging process in humans, according to the journal Nature.
As our body ages, our muscles and joints become stiff, making movement difficult. A study by British scientists shows that the same is true for our brain.
A decrease in brain elasticity with age causes stem cell dysfunction, but there is a way to return them to a young and healthy state, experts say.
The researchers decided to find out the role of the influence of brain stiffness on the work of auxiliary cells of the nervous tissue, which are responsible for its normal functioning and regeneration of the fatty membrane. In laboratory conditions, they imitated the rigid brain of an old rat and the flexible brain of a young individual, after which they began to grow stem cells in these two environments.
“We were struck by the fact that young healthy rat brain stem cells grown on hard material stopped working properly and lost their ability to regenerate. In addition, they actually began to function as cells of the old brain. But most interestingly, the brain cells of an old individual growing on flexible material began to work as young ones. In a word, they are rejuvenated, ”said one of the leaders of the study, Dr. Kevin Shali.
The transplantation of the cells of an old rat into the brain of a younger animal also led to their full recovery. As a result of further research, scientists were able to detect the protein Piezo1, which transmits information about environmental stiffness to the cell.
By removing Piezo1 from the surface of aged stem cells, scientists “tricked” these cells, and they began to perceive the hard material on which they grew, like a soft environment. The next step was the removal of protein directly in the cells of the rat’s old brain, and this also led to the rejuvenation and start of the process of their regeneration.
Researchers are confident that the discovery will lead to the development of a method for treating multiple sclerosis in humans and the solution of other problems associated with aging and loss of brain function.
Previously, American scientists were able to increase the life expectancy of mice by acting on the gland of the hypothalamus by injection of young nerve stem cells.