Whether the brain ages can be reversible depends on the growing environment is not soft enough

A multidisciplinary team led by the Stem Cell Institute at the University of Cambridge studied the brains of young and older mice to understand the effects of age-related brain hardening on the function of less protogeneic progenitor cells (OPCs)OPCs is a brain stem cell that is important for maintaining normal brain function and myelin (the fat that surrounds the nerves) regenerationBut as you get older, OPCs can become dysfunctional and even lead to multiple sclerosisto determine whether the loss of aging OPCs is reversible, the researchers transplanted OPCs from older rats into the soft spongy brains of young ratsThe results showed that older brain cells rejuvenate and behave like younger, more energetic cellsTo fully understand the effects of the brain's softness and stiffness on cell behavior, the researchers studied a protein found on the surface of cells called piezo1, which "tells" cells whether the surrounding environment is soft or stiffIn the lab, they developed new materials of different hardnesses and used them in rat brain stem cells grown in a controlled environment, designed to have a softness similar to those of a young or older brainDr Kevin Charutt, one of the's research leaders, said: "When we grow young, functional rat brain stem cells on hard substances, these cells are dysfunctional and lose their ability to regenerate, and in fact they start to become like aging cellsHowever, as aging brain stem cells grow on soft materials, they begin to function like young cells - in other words, they rejuvenateThe new findings, which reverse the aging process of brain stem cells, are important for future treatments, and provide a new goal for us to address problems related to aging and multiple sclerosis, including how to potentially restore brain loss of function,researchers said.