Human cord blood contains anti-aging protein

Scientists have found that there is a protein in human cord blood that can activate the hippocampus of old mice and enhance their cognitive function The discovery of this protein will help to develop targeted therapies for brain aging, and thus become an important step in the research of anti-aging   Past studies have shown that young blood components can regenerate old tissues, and old blood can have harmful effects on young tissues Scientists have determined that it seems that a protein in the plasma plays a key role, and whether it is experimental mice or humans, the level of the protein will decline with age   Tony Weiss Kerry, a researcher at Stanford University School of medicine, has been conducting clinical research on anti-aging of young blood They have previously shown that blood derived factors in younger mice can resist changes in older mice as they age This time, the researchers claimed in their paper that human cord blood has a similar effect They also identified tissue metalloproteinase inhibitor-2 (TIMP2), a protein that promotes anti-aging effects It's a protein that naturally occurs in early development, and it's also found in the brain of old mice after they've been injected with human cord blood   Experiments show that after treatment, the neurons in the hippocampus of the aged mice express more genes that promote the formation of synapses, and the hippocampus is the important center responsible for learning and memory The performance of the experimental animals in various tests such as learning, memory and synaptic plasticity (brain changes and the ability to adapt to new information) has been significantly improved   Taken together, the new findings suggest that systemic factors emerging in the early stages of life can help activate old tissues, and TIMP2 or its targeted cells are likely targets for future development of anti-aging drugs, the researchers said.