Blood magazine indicated that during a study they conducted to discover the causes of blood cell aging, researchers found that the levels of a protein called platelet factor 4 (PF4) in the body decrease with age, which leads to poor performance of stem cells in the bone marrow, and with it, the risk of infection, blood cancer, and cardiovascular diseases increases.
During the study, scientists discovered that the PF4 protein in young organisms regulates the division of blood-forming stem cells and prevents their excessive proliferation. With age, the effects of this protein weaken, causing cells to divide more rapidly, accumulate mutations, and lose their ability to produce healthy lymphocytes, weakening the body's immune system.
When scientists injected this protein into the bodies of elderly laboratory mice, they observed, after a month, that the blood-forming cells "regained their regeneration mechanism," restored their immune function, and the blood structure became similar to that of young mice. The same effect was observed when this experiment was conducted on human cells.
Based on these results, the study's authors believe that the PF4 protein could become an "elixir of youth" and part of a future integrated treatment to combat aging and treat age-related blood diseases and some immune system diseases.
