Breach! Targeting an anti-aging protein is expected to rejuvenate immune cells

Scientists have long thought that anti-aging proteins can protect the body against the occurrence of age-related diseases, such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and cardiovascular diseases Recently, a study published in the International Journal The Journal of Experimental Medicine came from the Gladstone Institute (Gladstone) Researchers at the institutes found that cells that target the protein or boost the immune system become younger In this study, researchers found that SIRT1 protein mediates how immune system cells change with aging Researchers want to clarify how this anti-aging protein affects the function of cytotoxic T cells, which are highly specific guards of the immune system, and can effectively kill the cells infected by the virus, damaged cells and cancer cells Melanie Ott, a researcher, points out that in the lifetime of human beings, they will be exposed to bacteria and viruses These T cells will mature and eventually lose the protein named CD28 As the cells grow older, they will also have a certain toxic effect on the body environment Persistent virus infection will accelerate the aging process of the body, such as HIV and CMV infection In fact, compared with the uninfected individuals, the individuals with HIV infection accumulate some mature cytotoxic T cells in the body in their young stage The high level of cytotoxic T cells in the body is directly related to age-related diseases, autoimmune diseases, etc., so researchers want to find a way to effectively deal with this situation What happens to aging cells? When young T cells are in a dormant state, they will use oxygen to breathe Once activated to help the body resist viruses or bacteria, they will be converted into glycolysis process, using sugar to promote the rapid increase of cell energy; as cells grow older, they will lose their energy If the respiration of CD28 protein is inhibited, it will rapidly transform into glycolysis process, and at the same time, it will lose SIRT1, an anti-aging protein, but this will cause a problem that it will become more and more toxic to the surrounding environment of cells In this study, the researchers T cells were studied to compare mature toxic T cells with young T cells (the initial T cells) They found that the concentration of SIRT1 protein in the initial T cells was high, which could stabilize the whole mechanism to inhibit cells from entering the glycolysis process using sugar as the energy source of cells, and also effectively limit the cytotoxic effect As the cells begin to age, they will lose SIRT1 and change the basic metabolic mechanism, and then the cells will quickly transform into glycolysis process, and start to produce toxic proteins such as cytokines, thus inducing the occurrence of inflammatory diseases A new mechanism to resist aging and aggressive tumor In order to better understand the key role of SIRT1 in the aging process of T cells, researchers identified two potential new drug targets First, they designed a new drug to enhance the activity of SIRT1 to restore mature toxic T cells, or to inhibit the entry of T cells into highly toxic state According to researcher mark y Jeng, this may be able to effectively slow down the occurrence of age-related diseases, effectively help individuals with weak immune function to resist infection, and better respond to the injection of immune vaccine, such as some patients with chronic infection In addition, researchers can design new drugs to achieve the opposite effect, and promote T cells to become more toxic By temporarily making young T cells more aggressive and behavior and mature cells look like each other, it may be able to promote the anti-tumor response of the body, and effectively promote the therapeutic effect of other immunotherapies on diseases.