Scientists Reverse Aging in Rat Stem Cells

University of Cambridge researchers have reversed the aging process in the stem cells of rat brains, reports Newsweek . In a study published in Nature , the team examined oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) in young and old rat brains, which were impacted by aging-induced stiffness. The presence of a protein called Piezo1, which detects how stiff its surroundings are, could potentially be tapped to fool stem cells into thinking they were in a younger, softer setting. Deleting Piezo1 from the OPCs in older rat brains seemed to trigger younger behavior, and transplanting OPCs from older rats into younger rats also revitalized the cells. "This . . . suggests an entirely new way of thinking about what controls aging in stem cells, and furthermore, since stiffness is a single factor from the environment, it suggest a means to straightforwardly reverse aging in stem cells," said Cambridge's Kevin Chalut. "It may be that this could be a key to aging in stem cells for all the tissues in the body, pointing to a means to aid regeneration of diseased or damaged tissue with age."