Arxiv
Biologists have identified a gene that controls the aging of stem cells
03.12.2020

According to molecular biologists, the decrease in the activity and number of stem cells in the body of older people is due to the GATA6 gene. When this gene is "activated", stem cells begin to age faster. The study was published in the journal "Stem Cells".

With the help of several mechanisms discovered by molecular biologists, it is possible to turn stem cells into "mature" tissue in the bones, muscles, skin, and nervous system. They can be used as a kind of "spare part" in the treatment of serious trauma and various degenerative diseases. According to scientists, such problems can be solved with the help of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC).Small amounts of these cells are present in all human organs. However, MSC cells retain the ability to transform into many types of tissues. In the elderly, their number and level of activity gradually decreases. Molecular biologist Wam Tszyui Li and his colleagues from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) conducted research in this regard...

The new discovery allows MSC cells to rejuvenate in older people without the risk of them becoming fully re-programmed stem cells. This will expand their therapeutic application and their ability to recover in the organs in which they live.

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