- When blood-forming hematopoietic stem cells that reside in the bone marrow age, the production of blood cells is altered, and the body’s ability to regenerate lost cells is impaired.
- A recent study in mice shows that aging is linked to the inflammation of cells in the bone marrow.
- The researchers saw that treatment with Anakinra—an interleukin (IL-1) receptor blocker approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis—could help mediate this impaired functioning.
- This suggests that treatments targeting IL-1 signaling may have the potential to ameliorate the effects of aging on blood production.
The aging of
A recent study conducted in mice shows that blocking the receptor for the proinflammatory protein IL-1 using the FDA-approved rheumatoid arthritis drug Anakinra may attenuate the deficits in the functioning of hematopoietic stem cells due to aging.
These findings, published in
The bone marrow is the soft, spongy tissue found at the center of most bones in the body.
The bone marrow is located in a central marrow cavity and is surrounded by a thin membrane called the
Besides producing daughter HSCs after cell division, HSCs also produce different progenitor cell types that, in turn, divide to produce specific types of mature blood cells. These mature blood cells include red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes), and cells belonging to the myeloid lineage.
Myeloid cells, in particular, include macrophages, platelets, monocytes, and granulocytes, several of which play an important role in producing an immune response.
The…
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