Scientists have discovered that stem cells in the brain's hypothalamus control how fast aging occurs in the body. This discovery could lead to new method of preventing diseases and increasing lifespan.
The hypothalamus regulates growth, development, reproduction, metabolism and aging. The number of hypothalamic neural stem cells naturally declines and this accelerates aging.
Replenishing stem cells can slow down the process of aging but the loss are not irreversible.
Researchers disrupted the hypothalamic stem cells in middle-aged mice and discovered that disruption accelerated aging. They injected hypothalamic stem cells into the brains of middle-aged mice whose stem cells had been destroyed as well as into the brains of normal old mice.
The treatment showed different measures of aging in both groups. Hypothalamic stem cells exert their anti-aging effects by releasing microRNAs (miRNAs).
The researchers extracted miRNA-containing exosomes from hypothalamic stem cells and injected them into the cerebrospinal fluid of middle-aged mice whose hypothalamic stem cells had been destroyed and normal middle-aged mice.
This treatment slowed aging in both groups of animals as measured by tissue analysis and behavioral testing that involved assessing changes in the animals' muscle endurance, coordination, social behavior and cognitive ability.
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