Scientists explore the "young" factor in human stem cells

In our bodies, there is a play of cell division, aging and death all the time, and interstate stem cells, which are widely found in fat, bone marrow, joints, etc., play a special role. Studies have shown that the aging and depletion of interstumined stem cells is one of the important causes of osteoarthritis.
To explore the factors that make interstume stem cells "younger," Liu Guanghui' team at the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted a four-year exploration of their findings, published March 26 in the journal Cell Reports.why do many old people have unsothy legs and feet? As you get older, cartilage cells in your joints age slowly, and the cartilage mucus that lubricates decreases, causing joint pain, stiffness, and even osteoarthritis.
osteoarthritis treatment methods are mainly non-drugs, drugs, surgery and other methods. Non-drug means include active exercise, acupuncture, push and remove, electrotherapy, side effects are small, but the effect is limited, drug treatment, i.e. injection analgesics, cartilage protection agents, sodium glass acid, etc., can quickly eliminate inflammatory stimulation, promote cartilage healing and regeneration, but the injection itself will damage cartilage, not suitable for repeated use;
have shown that an important cause of osteoarthritis is the aging and functional degradation of interstumined dry (pregenic) cells, cartilage cells, and membrane cells in the joints. Interartal charge stem cells can differentiate into cartilage cells, membrane cells, ligament cells, etc. when the joints are aging or damaged.
If key targets leading to interstumined stem cell aging can be found and suppressed, restoring "young" stem cells can more effectively differentiate into cartilage cells and membrane cells, thus achieving timely "replenishment and replacement" of senescing joint cells, which may be safer and more effective than existing treatments.
based on this hypothesis, Liu Guanghui's team has been trying to explore factors that could allow human-filled stem cells to return to their "young state."to find the mystery of making interstuming stem cells younger, we first need to explore the differences between young and old interstuming stem cells. The researchers tested and compared the levels of gene expression in young and old-age congested stem cells, and soon found that in older cell line, the expression of the CBX4 protein in one of the groups of the PRC1 protein complex was lower, significantly lower than in younger cell line. Later, they tested the original intergenerational charge stem cells isolated from the tissues of the elderly, and found the same phenomenon.
" CBX4 protein showed a decrease in expression in interstitrinal stem cells with physiological aging, hereditary accelerated aging, and replicable aging. Given its properties as an oso-genetic regulator, we suspect that this may be a driving force behind the aging of interstital stem cells. Ren Xiaoqing, the first author of the paper and a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.
using CRISPR/Cas9 technology to target CBX4, researchers found that interstate stem cells missing CBX4 do accelerate aging. So can CBX4's excessive expression in cells make aging cells younger?
to test this, the researchers cloned the CBX4 gene coding sequence into a lunvirus expression vector. This lysovirus vector has been genetically engineered to no longer have the "toxic power" of the virus, but can be used as a gene import tool to import target proteins into mammalian cells, is a common method in the practice of gene therapy of human diseases.
when virulent vectors loaded with CBX4 gene coding sequences were imported into aging human-to-human rechargeable stem cells, they became "younger" and regained their fast-growing properties. The researchers point out that this may be because CBX4 prevents over-synthesis of in-cell proteins, which slows the rate of cell aging.addition to cell-level experiments, the researchers conducted animal experiments. They cut off the mice's anthocyst ligaments to simulate osteoarthritis. The lysovirus vector expressing CBX4 was then injected into the joint cavity of mice. It was found that the proportion of aging cells in the joint decreased, cartilage regeneration was obvious, inflammatory response was inhibited, and the symptoms of osteoarthritis were effectively alleviated.
" study is the first conceptual proof of the feasibility of gene-imported stem cell "younger" factors to treat osteoarthritis, providing a new solution for intervention in aging-related diseases, and has broad application prospects in geriatrics and regenerative medicine. Liu Guanghui, the paper's co-author, said. (Source: Science Network Liu Runan Li Chenyang)
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