Hallmark of Aging 10 - Altered Intercellular Communication
July 14, 2024Hallmark of Aging 10 - Altered Intercellular Communication
How did altered intercellular communication make the list? What on earth is that about? To understand it helps to conceptualize us as assemblies of cells. We started as a single-cell organism both at conception, as well as 3 billion years ago. Each of those cells in our now complex, 10 trillion cell organism, still has a certain amount of autonomy, and the need to talk to the other 9.9999 trillion cells. How can the whole organism act in concert unless it is communicating?
There are clear experiments in mice where one can take the serum of old mice, and transfuse it into young mice who will then develop the attributes of aging. Or, take the serum of old mice and dilute it with saline solution, and those mice will appear younger. We can identify packets of messenger RNA called exosomes that are essentially brown bottles thrown out into the void to communicate between cells throughout the body. There are even businesses now isolating exosomes and using them for therapeutic effect.
It's not just exosomes that become degraded. Aging involves deficiencies in neural, neuroendocrine, and hormonal signaling pathways, including the adrenergic, dopaminergic, and insulin/IGF1-based and renin-angiotensin systems, as well as sex hormones loss of reproductive functions. Lots of communication systems are degraded.
The SASP system is a central one. It is intensely involved in tumor suppression. SASP stands for the "senescence-associated secretory phenotype". Aging cells that are at risk of turning into cancer are meant to be arrested in their growth so they don't become cancer. Unfortunately, they don't die either. As zombie cells, they put out all sorts of inflammatory stuff that ends up encouraging cancer cells after all. This gets into the "antagonistic pleiotropy" theory of aging which essentially says that the same gene can have good effects in one situation, and horrible effects in another.
You can sense the intricate interplay of competing forces. There is layer upon layer of competing influences.
www.What will Work for me? The most likely thing to have a tangible benefit are Nrf2 strategies and NO supplementation. Both Nrf2 and NO play a role in the robustness of many pathways. You can boost your Nrf2 with lots of vegetables and PB-125, the supplement from Pathways Bioscience that is the current best of breed for stimulating your Nrf-2 system.
References: Cell, Science Direct, Ann Rev Pathology , Free Rad Biol Med, Wikipedia, Molecular Cell Bio,
Pop Quiz
1. Why is intercellular communication so important? Answer: As we evolved from single cell to our current 10 trillion cell condo association, we had to develop mechanisms to share the "news" of whatever was happening locally with the whole group. Did you just get invaded my malaria? Got a cancer starting?
2. Can you name a couple of the means of communication? Answer: Hormones, nervous system, exosomes, SASP
3. Ok, just what is SASP? Answer: "Senescence-association secretory phenotype". A tilt of older cells to become zombie cells that generate lots of inflammatory messages.
4. Can you name one hormone that degrades dramatically with aging other than estrogen or testosterone. Answer: Sure. NO (nitric oxide) drops by 12% per decade. Can't have healthy blood vessels with no NO. You can buy it and replace it. If you are over 70, just do it.
5. Extra Credit: Can you explain "antagonistic pleiotropy"? Ok: go read about it on Wikipedia.