Aging is Contagious within the Body

In the midst of a discussion regarding the limitations of life span studies, in that the use of death as an endpoint fails to capture all of the variances in health due to aging, the authors of this paper offer up the thought that aging is contagious within the body. Declines in one cell spread to another, directly or indirectly. Consider that the secretions of senescent cells can make nearby cells senescent. Declines in one tissue can spread to another, directly or indirectly. Consider that the progressive failure of kidney function produces cardiovascular and cognitive dysfunction as a result, because the vascular system and the brain are so very dependent on the environment that the kidney is primarily responsible for maintaining. What might we take from this line of thinking? Perhaps that every form of repair therapy can be helpful, and equally that any one form of repair might not be enough, and the details matter in every case. Given the complex heterogeneities of cell and tissue aging in any single individual and the notion of the most rapidly aging tissues being the driver of the aging of that organism, do those more rapidly aging tissues accelerate the aging of other tissues in the body? Does the aging of one cell affect the age of another cell? Is aging contagious? The notion of the aging process spreading from one cell to another is highlighted by the field of cellular senescence. The secretome of senescent cells has been shown to induce senescence of neig...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs