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Scientists at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) may have discovered a cause of aging in the brain.
The culprit is a protein called ferritin light chain 1 (FTL1), described as an iron-associated protein identified as a “pro-aging neuronal factor that impairs cognition.”
The study, published in the journal Nature Aging, compared how genes and proteins in the hippocampus – the region of the brain responsible for learning and memory – changed over time in old and young mice.
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Aged mice had a higher amount of FTL1, as well as fewer brain cell connections in the hippocampus and diminished cognitive abilities, according to a UCSF press release.
When FTL1 was artificially increased in young mice, their brains began to mimic the brains and behaviors of old mice.
When the protein was decreased in the old mice, they “regained their youth,” had more nerve cell connections and performed better on memory tests.
FTL1 also slowed down metabolism in the hippocampus cells of old mice.
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The researchers discovered, however, that treating these cells with a metabolism stimulation compound prevented these effects.
Saul Villeda, PhD, associate director of the UCSF Bakar Aging Research Institute and senior author of the paper, said he considers these findings a “reversal of impairment.”
“It’s much more than merely delaying or preventing symptoms,” he said in a press release statement.
“We’re seeing more opportunities to alleviate the worst consequences of old age. It’s a hopeful time to be working on the biology of aging.”
Dr. Paul Saphier, a neurosurgeon and founder of Coaxial Neurosurgical Specialists in New Jersey, called these findings “really interesting” in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“There is no doubt that as proteins accumulate in various parts of the brain, certain neurodegenerative disorders occur,” he said. “Alzheimer’s disease is directly linked to a build-up of amyloid proteins within the brain.”
“It’s much more than merely delaying or preventing symptoms.”
“If there is a mechanism by which we can slow and/or reverse the build-up of this FTL1 protein in the hippocampus, which is the main memory center of the brain, it stands to reason that we may improve/enhance cognition.”
Previous research has shown that modulating sugar and protein can reduce the rate of aging, Saphier pointed out.
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“I support this research and am certain there is ultimately going to be a breakthrough in this area,” he added.
The study was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, the Bakar Aging Research Institute and the National Institute on Aging.
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