This new drug opens the door to new treatments to delay the evolution of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, arthritis, cataracts or some tumors. It works like a smart pump, able to recognize specific proteins on the surface of these aging cells and kill them off.
Researchers from the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and of the University of Leicester (UK) have developed a new method to remove old cells from tissues and thus slow down the aging process. The UOC and University of Leicester researcher Salvador Macip leads this investigation that has managed to create “smart bombs” that specifically identify and eliminate aging cells that accumulate in tissues and impair their function.
The discovery of this new drug opens the door to develop new treatments to slow disease progression such as Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes or some cancers.
This drug is a second generation senolytic, remote controlled and highly specific against aging cells (Photo: Testalize.me, Unsplash)
And it is not known why some people age worse than others and develop diseases associated with the process of getting older, such as neurodegenerative diseases, fibrosis, type 2 diabetes or some types of cancer. One explanation could be the level of efficiency of the response of each organism to damage received by cells throughout life, which is why they end up aging.
Open door to extend life expectancy
The results of this work, published in Scientific Reportsopen the door to develop effective treatments for delay the evolution of diseases related to aging. Also, in the long run,This discovery could also slow down the aging process itself, with the aim of improving hope and, above all, the quality of life of people at this stage.
As pointed out by the doctor and researcher at the UOC and the University of Leicester Salvador Macipwho is in charge of this investigation, “For the first time we have a drug based on an antibody that can be applied to humans to stop cell senescence«. This expert adds that “we have based on therapies already used in cancer and that they target specific proteins present on the surface of cancer cells, and we have transferred this to senescent cells.”.
A remote-controlled drug to kill the most aging cells
All living organisms have a mechanism called ‘cellular senescence‘, which stops damaged cells from dividing and kills them so they can’t spread. This mechanism contributes to slowing down cancer, for example, and helps to model tissues during the embryonic stage of development. However, despite being a very beneficial biological mechanism, during the stage of old age contributes to the development of diseases.
It seems that the reason is the immune system is no longer able to efficiently eliminate these senescent cells, which accumulate in the tissues, which worsens its functioning. Some previous experiments carried out in the laboratory with animal models had shown that, if these cells were eliminated with drugs, it was possible to slow the progression of the disease and the degeneration of age. For this, a new type of drugs was used, called ‘senolytics‘, which are not very specific and have side effects, which makes it difficult for them to be applied to humans.
A second generation senolytic, remote controlled and very specific
The drug that Macip and his team have designed is a second-generation senolytic, remote control and very specific. The researchers have based themselves on the results of a previous work in which they studied the ‘surfaceome‘, the set of proteins on the cell surface, with the aim of identifying which ones were characteristic of senescent cells. “They are not universal, but each type of aging cell has some proteins that are more present than others”highlights Macip.
In this new work, researchers from the they have used a monoclonal antibody that they have trained to recognize senescent cells and latch onto them. “In the same way that the body’s antibodies recognize microbes and protect us from them, we have designed these antibodies so that they are capable of recognizing old cells and we have applied a toxic charge to destroy them, as if they were guided missiles”says the researcher, who directs the Cancer Mechanisms and Aging Laboratory of the
The treatment could be start administering when the first symptoms of diseases appear such as Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, arthritis, cataracts or some tumors. In the long term, the researchers believe that it could even occur in certain circumstances to achieve healthier aging.