A "master switch" that stops cell aging discovered in the human body

Researchers at a Japanese university claim to have found a "master switch" that could reverse the aging process. The protein, called AP2A1, may hold the key to future treatments that will turn back the body's biological clock and reverse the damage caused by aging.

Cellular senescence is a process that plays a significant role in the negative effects of the body as it ages. Scientists can eliminate the cause of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's or arthritis by reversing the processes at the cellular level, DailyMail reports.

According to scientists, as our bodies age, we create more and more old cells that stop dividing and functioning properly. These "zombie cells" do not die, but continue to grow and release inflammatory chemicals that contribute to the development of age-related diseases.

However, researchers have found that they can turn old cells back into young, healthy ones simply by reducing the amount of AP2A1 protein.

Professor Richard Faragher, an expert from the University of Brighton, says that aging cells "radically change the way they behave" and start producing inflammatory molecules and enzymes that destroy surrounding tissue. "They actually become poisonous to the body," the professor noted.

According to experts, old cells grow until they are six times larger than young cells and create "stress fibers." "We still don't understand how these aging cells can maintain their enormous size," said lead author of the study, Dr. Piravan Chantachotikul of Osaka University.

Since the AP2A1 protein is involved in processes that maintain stress fibers, scientists decided to investigate whether it is also associated with cellular aging.

When the amount of the protein was reduced in the study, the cells returned to their normal size and began dividing again, showing signs of youthfulness. When the scientists increased the amount of AP2A1, the cells began to grow larger and grow thick stress fibers.

Senior study author Dr. Shinji Deguchi of Osaka University called the results "very intriguing." "Inhibition of the protein in old cells led to rejuvenation at the cellular level, while overexpression of AP2A1, on the contrary, caused aging," he said.

Scientists say that the AP2A1 protein may be a universal part of the aging process, regardless of how aging occurs and where in the body.

This research opens up a unique opportunity to use treatments that control AP2A1 as a "cure" for aging.

Although senescent cells are not the sole cause of age-related diseases, they play a significant role in causing some of the worst age-related effects, the scientists emphasize.

Prof. Faragher says that knowing how to remove aging cells from the human body could eliminate the cause of many age-related diseases.

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