Scientists find a mechanism which slows down brain stem cell aging

Recently scientists from the University of Zurich have identified a novel mechanism of how neural stem cells stay relatively free of aging-induced damage. A diffusion barrier regulates the sorting of damaged proteins during cell division. As we know that neural stem cells generate new neurons throughout life in the mammalian brain. But the potential for regeneration in the brain dramatically declines with age. The mechanism just found is of great significance.
Yeast are useful for making wine, bread and brewing beer. At the same time, they are also a good model for neural stem cells in the mammalian brain. It was known that with every division cellular aging factors are asymmetrically distributed between the mother and the daughter cell, allowing for rejuvenation and full life span of the daughter independent of the age of the mother cell. The presence of a diffusion barrier that restricts movement of molecules from one side to the other side of the cell during cell division is partially responsible for that.
To dispose age, Sebastian Jessberger of the Brain Research Institute led a group of scientists to conduct a research and the results showed that also the stem cells of the adult mouse brain asymmetrically segregate aging factors between the mother and the daughter cells. It is a diffusion barrier in the endoplasmic reticulum that is responsible. The barrier keeps the stem cells relatively clean by preventing retention of damaged proteins in the stem cell daughter cell.
Scientists found that the strength of the barrier weakens with advancing age. The weakening leads to reduced asymmetry of damaged protein segregation with increasing age of the stem cell. This is supposed to be a mechanism related to the reduced regeneration capacity in the aged brain for stem cells that retain larger amounts of damaged proteins require longer for the next cell division.
The discovery of the new mechanism is an exciting thing. It is our first step to understand the molecular constituents and the worth of the barrier for stem cell division in the brain. And what remains to be explore is whether the barrier is established in all somatic stem cells of the body.The answer may help finding new way of target age-dependent alterations of stem cell activity in human disease.
Read more:http://www.cusabio.com/catalog-13-1.html