Blood protein provides a new direction for anti-aging drugs

Blood protein provides a new direction for anti-aging drugs

Blood proteins provide a new direction for anti-aging drugs. Research shows that two blood proteins will affect our life and health.

According to the largest aging genetics research, the development of drugs for these proteins may be a way to slow down the aging process.

As we grow older, our bodies begin to decline in adulthood, which can lead to age-related diseases and death. The latest study investigated which proteins affect the aging process.

Many complex and related factors determine the rate of our aging and death, including genes, lifestyles, environment and opportunities. This study reveals the role of proteins in this process.

Some people are born with higher or lower levels of certain proteins because they inherit DNA from their parents. These protein levels in turn affect a person's health.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh combined the results of six large genetic studies into the process of human aging, each containing genetic information of hundreds of thousands of people.

Of the 857 proteins studied, the researchers found two proteins that had significant negative effects on different aging indicators.

Compared with those without inheritance, those who inherit the DNA that causes these protein levels to rise are more vulnerable, have poor self-rated health and are unlikely to live particularly long.

The first protein, called apolipoprotein (a) (LPA), is produced in the liver and is thought to play a role in coagulation. High levels of LPA increase the risk of atherosclerosis - when arteries are blocked by fatty substances. Heart disease and stroke are possible outcomes.

The second protein is vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1), which mainly exists on the surface of endothelial cells, a single-cell layer that arranges blood vessels. This protein controls the expansion and contraction of blood vessels and plays a role in coagulation and immune response.

When the body signals that an infection has been detected, the level of VCAM1 increases, and then VCAM1 allows immune cells to pass through the endothelial layer, as is the case with naturally low levels of these proteins in some people.

Drugs that treat diseases by reducing LPA and VCAM1 levels may have additional benefits in improving quality of life and longevity, the researchers said.

One example is a clinical trial that is testing a drug that reduces LPA as a way to reduce the risk of heart disease.

There are no clinical trials involving VCAM1, but studies in mice have shown that antibodies that reduce the level of this protein can improve the cognitive ability of elderly mice.

The identification of these two key proteins can help prolong a healthy life span. Drugs that lower the levels of these proteins in our blood can make ordinary people live as long and healthy as those who won the gene lottery and had lower levels of LPA and VCAM1 at birth.

The findings have been published in the journal natural aging.