Anti-aging and Stem Cells
Aging is a pathophysiological process that occurs universally in the vast majority of organisms and appears slowly with increasing age. The aging organism manifests itself as an irreversible decline in normal physiological functions, including a variety of degenerative changes in organs such as memory loss, slowed reaction time, diminished locomotor activity, and decreased secretion of relevant hormones, as well as external manifestations such as age spots, skin folds, and thinning and graying of the hair, which are the cumulative effects of growth inhibition and acquired somatic injuries.
Almost universal in aging organisms are changes in tissue structure, which are not only evident at both the micro- and macro-levels, but are accompanied by impairment of tissue function and lack of response to injury. Cells are the basic unit of the structure and function of organisms, and senescent cells are the structural basis of organ senescence and overall aging in the organism, so the regeneration of senescent cells has become the main direction of anti-aging research.
Mechanism of stem cell anti-aging
As early as in the 1960s, scientists started the research of stem cells, which is the cells with a high degree of self-renewal ability and multi-directional differentiation potential. It is the seed cell that constitutes all the functional cells of the organism, and can be differentiated into a variety of functional cells and tissues and organs when cultured under suitable conditions in vitro.
The life cycle of stem cells can be roughly divided into three stages. During embryogenesis and organ growth, stem cells are highly active and contribute to the formation and growth of tissues; at the peak of reproduction, growth is inhibited, and the function of stem cells is to maintain and repair tissues; after reproductive maturity, fertility declines, and they enter a period of "protective aging," where cellular and tissue functions are seldom subjected to evolutionary pressures, and it is at this stage that stem cells in most tissues are able to differentiate into a wide range of functional cells and organs. It is during this phase that stem cell function (not necessarily stem cell number) declines dramatically in most tissues.
Stem cells play a major role in repairing cellular damage, replenishing cellular depletion, activating cellular energy, and playing a decisive role in cellular state and fate decisions. Stem cells themselves, under the action of the tissue microenvironment, differentiate multidirectionally into tissue cells, replacing senescent dead cells. It also has a powerful secretion function, secretes some growth factors and cytokines, enhances the body's anti-free radical ability, plays a role in promoting angiogenesis and cell proliferation and differentiation, inhibits inflammatory response and chemotaxis, regulates cell adhesion and migration, stimulates the regeneration and repair function of tissue cells, accelerates wound healing and tissue remodeling, and achieves anti-aging.
Stem cells play a major role in repairing cellular damage, replenishing cellular depletion, activating cellular energy, and playing a decisive role in cellular state and fate decisions. Stem cells themselves, under the action of the tissue microenvironment, differentiate multidirectionally into tissue cells, replacing senescent dead cells. It also has a powerful secretion function, secretes some growth factors and cytokines, enhances the body's anti-free radical ability, plays a role in promoting angiogenesis and cell proliferation and differentiation, inhibits inflammatory response and chemotaxis, regulates cell adhesion and migration, stimulates the regeneration and repair function of tissue cells, accelerates wound healing and tissue remodeling, and achieves anti-aging.
Stem Cell Therapy in the Clinic
Exogenous adult stem cells that can be used for anti-aging mainly include adipose stem cells, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, and mesenchymal stem cells derived from gestational tissues; highly undifferentiated embryonic stem cells are also seldom applied, among which pluripotent stem cells, which come from a wide range of sources and do not involve ethical issues, have become the most researched and applied stem cell types in the international arena at present.
Cell therapies for more than 14 diseases and injuries are currently in clinical trials. Stem cell therapy for aging and aging-related diseases is also currently very fruitful, for example:
1. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation has been used to improve the symptoms of aging and frailty
2. Improvement of neurodegenerative diseases
3. Improvement of age-related macular degeneration
At present, stem cells have achieved certain results in the field of anti-aging, showing more or less certain effects in the treatment of organism aging and many aging-related diseases. It is believed that with the continuous development of stem cell technology, the role of stem cell technology in anti-aging will be more prominent, while the potential role of stem cells in the treatment of more aging-related diseases will also be explored. We look forward to the day when stem cell technology can save more patients and families as scientific research continues to deepen and improve.