Longevity & AgingHow Inflammaging and Mutant Blood Stem Cells Drive Each Other Into Chronic Disease
Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) occurs when somatically mutated blood stem cells expand to dominate blood cell production in aging individuals. Affecting over 10% of those 65+ and 60% of those 80+, CHIP mutations in genes like DNMT3A, TET2, and ASXL1 amplify chronic low-grade inflammation (inflammaging), raising risk for cardiovascular disease, COPD, kidney disease, liver disease, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and periodontitis. Crucially, inflammaging itself fuels expansion of CHIP-mutant clones while suppressing normal stem cells, creating a self-reinforcing cycle. Anti-inflammatory therapies—including IL-1β inhibitor canakinumab—are now under investigation to break this loop and reduce disease burden in CHIP carriers.
