Longevity & AgingBoosting One Brain Protein in Astrocytes Slows Aging Throughout the Mouse Body
Brain support cells called astrocytes may help set the pace of aging for the whole body. Researchers reported in Aging Cell that levels of fibroblast growth factor 13 (FGF13) fall in aging astrocytes. When they removed FGF13 from astrocytes in older mice, memory got worse, and signs of cellular aging rose in the skin, liver, spleen, kidney, and heart. Blood levels of inflammatory molecules also climbed. When they raised FGF13 in astrocytes of old mice, the animals performed on memory tests much like young mice, showed lower inflammatory signals in the blood, had less senescence in several organs, and gained less weight with age. In dish experiments, FGF13-deficient astrocytes harmed neuron connections and pushed immune cells called microglia toward inflammation, and restoring FGF13 reversed much of this. The findings suggest the brain can broadcast aging signals to the body, though all of this work was done in mice.
