Remember Benjamin Button who aged backward as he grew? Did scientists finally find a way to make aging livers healthy again?
Researchers have found a way to rejuvenate liver cells in mice and human cells.
Scientists and researchers have found gene clusters that may help reverse aging in damaged liver cells through medical interventions.
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The latest study states that in mice and human cell samples, there is a possibility for undoing some of the damage caused to the liver upon aging, to a certain degree back to health.
Along with rejuvenating, the study has also found genes that cause cell death in liver cells, which the research defines as an iron-dependent type of cell death called ferroptosis. Ferroptosis also connects to the damage of other organs, such as the heart, kidneys, and even pancreatic islets.
What was the main aim of this research?
The research was mainly focused on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), better known as “metabolic dysfunction- associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)”, thus stating that these diseases cause scarring of the liver’s main cells which will eventually lead to organ failure.
Upon studying the cluster of genes of the aging cells in mice, they conducted tests on cells extracted from individuals who had obesity and NAFLD/MASLD. They identified the same DNA signatures, indicating a potential for pharmaceutical treatment. and medical advancement
To test out their assumptions, they gathered a pair of 3-month-old mice and one of 2-year-old mice to develop NAFLD/MASLD.
Some of the older mice along with NAFLD/MASLD also received Ferrostatin-1 injection which helps in tissue and cell damage. This was to confirm their theory and understand the effects of the drug on aging damaged livers.
The drug at the end of the test the mice consumed with Ferrostatin-1 appeared to get their old damaged liver back to health.
What is NAFLD/MASLD?
Non-alcoholic liver disease or Metabolic dysfunction associated with steatotic liver disease is common among adults. One out of five are affected by NAFLD/MASLD worldwide.
NAFLD/MASLD can be because of metabolic factors of obesity, insulin resistance, vascular dysfunction, and dyslipidaemia.
In NAFLD/MASLD, an individual’s liver would be of more than 5 to 10% fat.
There are no known symptoms other than fatigue, discomfort in the abdomen, and unexpected weight loss. NAFLD/MASLD could be diagnosed in a blood run which shows an atypical rise in levels of liver enzymes.
It is also stated that these liver conditions are frequently found unexpectedly via abdominal diagnostic tests, such as ultrasounds or CT scans, which are initially performed for unrelated issues, indicating the presence of fatty tissue of liver cells.
Will the new therapies succeed in stopping liver aging?
The researchers and the latest study hope their findings find a path to therapies and medications to stop liver aging.
Although the research and test bring a positive light on the preclinical study, some judgments and opinions still stand as obstacles.
Assistant research scientist Muhammed Nadeem Aslam cautions that ferroptosis in liver diseases plays a double-edged sword. Ferroptosis may ease liver injuries and conditions, it also damages hepatic stellate cells and kills off liver cancer cells. He also pines that ferroptosis has three major aspects: iron metabolism, lipid metabolism and the antioxidant defense system, thus providing a potential therapeutic avenue.
The senior of the study, Anna Mae Diehl comments that the study aims to demonstrate that aging is partially reversible.
She further explains that aging provokes non-alcoholic liver disease by constructing ferroptic stress and by lessening its impact, there is a possibility for reversing the damage.
In conclusion, Diehl remarks that it’s never too old to get better.
