By studying the effects of senescent cells - cells that accumulate as organs age - on other parts of the human body, two teams of Portuguese scientists discovered that the presence of these 'old cells' in the skin can negatively affect other organs in the human body, especially the brain, by spreading signs of ageing. This discovery paves the way for the study of future therapies that could slow down the aging process in the human body.
“This research constitutes the first direct evidence that senescent cells in the skin can accelerate aging in other parts of the body. It therefore suggests that senescence of skin cells may contribute to generalized aging effects,” explains the team from the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC-UC/CiBB) at the University of Coimbra (UC) and the UC Faculty of Pharmacy (FFUC) involved in the research.
To carry out this study, the teams of scientists investigated the effects of senescent cells in the skin of young mice. They observed that the presence of these aged cells in the skin led to a decrease in musculoskeletal function, increased physical weakness and decreased memory capacity in the mice. They also noted that the brain was affected, particularly the hippocampus, a key area for memory and cognitive function, “conditions often observed in ageing”, highlights one of the study's coordinators, Cláudia Cavadas, leader of the Neuroendocrinology and Ageing research group at CNC-UC/CiBB. “These reactions indicate that there was a link between the aged cells in the skin and the brain,” she adds.
The results of this study thus contribute to the understanding of organismal aging “potentially opening the way to investigate innovative interventions aimed at slowing down the systemic ageing”, emphasizes the scientist. “Potentially, they could also explain the link between skin diseases and other diseases associated with ageing,” she adds.
New data on the ageing of the human body is crucial today, as “the ageing of the population is a global concern and one of the biggest risk factors for major chronic diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases”, the scientist adds.
This research opens the way to new possibilities for investigating ageing, which could focus, for example, on “better understanding senescent cells in the skin and exploring new strategies aimed at eliminating or neutralizing senescent cells in the skin with the goal of reducing their systemic effects on the aging of the organism,” adds João Passos, the co-coordinator of this study, leader of the Cell and Molecular Aging Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic, USA.
The results of this research are available in the scientific article Senescent cell transplantation into the skin induces age-related peripheral dysfunction and cognitive decline, published in the journal Aging Cell, whose first author is Ana Catarina Franco, FFUC and CNC-UC doctoral student.
The scientific article is available here.
Catarina Ribeiro w/CNC-UC
