- Researchers have been able to reverse age-related damage to liver cells in mice and in human cell cultures in a new study.
- The study homes in on ferroptosis — a form of iron-dependent cell death — as an age-related process affecting a set of key cells in the liver, called ‘hepatocytes.’
- Its authors found gene clusters associated with this process in both mice and human cells.
- The takeaway is that it may be possible to reverse aging in affected liver cells through pharmaceutical interventions.
A new study in mice and human cell samples finds that it may be possible to undo some of the damage that occurs with aging, restoring the liver at least partially to health.
The authors of the study found an abundance of genes that cause cell death in liver cells from older mice, and in human cells.
The age-related genes cause an iron-dependent type of cell death called
The main focus of the study is nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), also known as “metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)”. It causes cirrhosis, or scarring, of the liver’s main cells, hepatocytes, and can lead eventually to organ failure.
After identifying a cluster of genes that affect the aging of cells in mice, the researchers examined cells collected from humans who had obesity and NAFLD/ MASLD. They found the same genetic signature, suggesting a target for pharmacological therapy.
To confirm their hypothesis, the researchers caused a group of 3-month-old young mice, and one of 2-year-old mice to develop NAFLD/ MASLD via diet.
Some of the older mice also received Ferrostatin-1 injections while continuing to be fed the NAFLD/ MASLD-inducing diet. This was so that the researchers could test the potential therapeutic effects of the drug on aging livers.
At the end of the study, the researchers found that liver cells in old mice receiving Ferrostatin-1 appeared young and…
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