Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of Minnesota have studied the unique “epigenetic clock” of T-cell aging, showing that T-cells can outlive the body by at least four lifetimes.
The main function of T-cells is recognition of antigens, the formation and response of effector immune response, and immunological memory. The results of the research were published in the journal Nature Aging.
Researchers study the process of cellular aging through repeated replicative growth cycles, and specific patterns have emerged for T-cells.
“The immune system, by nature, should mount a rapid proliferative response to a pathogen or tumor,” said study co-author Ben Youngblood. “And in some conditions, such as endemic pathogens or chronic viral infections, this happens over and over again.” During a person’s life, these T-cells undergo intensive profiling.
In this regard, the question arises: why despite the accelerated rate of proliferation, does this immune response not cause cancer?
The answer lies in the unique ability of T-cells to resist aging.
To study this phenomenon, researchers used specific biomarkers known as epigenetic markers, which accumulate over time. That “epigenetic clock,” akin to tree stump circles in a forest, reveals the retrospective history of a cell’s life cycle, independent of the organism.
In the framework of the research, the scientists chose a model in which the same line of T-cells was used during several life cycles of the mice.
Using that model and the epigenetic clock they developed for T-cells, the researchers studied DNA methylation patterns in T-cell lines. They discovered that age is just a number, and death is not the end.
Then, the researchers found out what happens during rapid and long-term proliferation, for example, in the case of cancer.
“We have gained insight into which epigenetic programs are associated with leukemia, and which are just normal hyper-proliferation and aging,” the authors of the study noted.
According to them, thanks to this work, it is possible to start exploring at potential treatment methods that will stop or even completely halt age-related disorders.
