SENS5 Video: Rejuvenating B Cells in the Immune System
Video of presentations from last year's SENS5 conference on rejuvenation biotechnology and longevity science continue to be posted to YouTube as SENS Foundation volunteers complete the processing. This latest presentation is one of the more interesting ones - an example of actual rejuvenation demonstrated for one narrow aspect of the immune system.
Aging is associated with a decline in B-lymphopoiesis in the bone marrow and accumulation of long-lived B-cells in the periphery. These changes decrease the body's ability to mount protective antibody responses. The mechanisms underlining these alterations are poorly understood. We found that the age-related alterations in the B-lineage reflect homeostatic pressures that are imposed by the accumulating long-lived B cells. Thus, a continuous demand for peripheral B cells renders the [bone marrow] devoid of senescence, and depletion of B cells in old mice revives B cell production in the bone marrow and rejuvenates the peripheral B cell compartment. Collectively, our studies suggest that immunosenescence in the B-lineage can be reversed to enhance immune responsiveness in aging.
You might recall that this approach and its foundations have been mentioned here at Fight Aging! a number of times. At the moment, the evidence suggests that this general approach of selectively destroying immune cells will work to restore a more youthful capacity to other components of the immune system as well. If you look back in the archives, you'll find a great many references to more reading material on this subject. For example:
what about rejuevenating immune cells via phlebotomy