By Rohini Subrahmanyam, PhD – The Scientist.com –
Bone marrow stem cells defy typical aging, and it may be because they express the right proteins.
Aging is inevitable for most cell types in the human body, but hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) seem to defy the process. They retain their self-renewing ability almost throughout an organism’s lifetime and exhibit a delayed onset of typical hallmarks of aging like DNA damage or protein aggregation. “Stem cells are really remarkable in their longevity,” said Andre Catic, a researcher working on aging at the Baylor College of Medicine.
Previously, scientists found that one reason contributing to HSC longevity was that they could exist in a functionally inactive state for prolonged periods. Now, Catic and his team found another clue as to how these cells maintain their youth. In a study published recently in Nature Cell Biology, they reported that HSCs contain high levels of a protein cyclophilin A which prevents these cells from rapid aging.
