Posted on 10/06/2022 8:06:36 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis could become the first degenerative disease to be treated through the science of aging.
It was known that this disease is associated with the aging process, but its molecular causes were unknown. The Telomeres and Telomerase Group has been working for years to unravel them. In their findings, they have narrowed down exactly which cells give rise to fibrosis when they undergo alterations due to the aging process: alveolar type II pneumocytes, the cells responsible for regenerating lung tissue.
"The relevance of this finding is that it indicates which cells in particular should be targeted in any therapy against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis," explains Maria A. Blasco.
Blasco's group has shown that pulmonary fibrosis is triggered when telomeres, the molecular structures that protect the ends of chromosomes, no longer function properly in lung cells. Telomeres are linked to aging: they shorten over the course of a lifetime, which can cause them to lose their ability to work properly as the body ages.
Fibrosis is only produced when the telomeres in pneumocytes are damaged.
The new study investigates whether damaging the telomeres of different types of lung cells causes fibrosis.
"We show that depletion of TRF1 in fibroblasts, Club and basal cells does not lead to interstitial lung fibrosis, underscoring alveolar type II pneumocytes as the relevant cell type for the origin of interstitial fibrosis," the authors write.
CNIO researchers have also designed a therapeutic strategy to treat pulmonary fibrosis, based on a gene therapy that activates the production of the enzyme that repairs telomeres in the body: telomerase.
"Pulmonary fibrosis is now the top disease for those researching aging," says Maria A. Blasco. "If we succeed in curing it, it will be the first
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Physical Activity and Nutrition: Two Promising Strategies for Telomere Maintenance?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6316700/
“Flax, spinach, mushrooms, berries, and oats”
Five Foods That Protect Your Telomeres and Extend Your Life
https://www.ornish.com/zine/five-foods-that-protect-telomeres/
More options:
Telomere Length And Aging: 5 Ways To Maintain Healthy Telomeres
https://lifelength.com/telomere-length-and-aging-5-ways-to-maintain-healthy-telomeres/
Two examples of telomere-enhancing supplements:
https://www.healthycell.com/blogs/articles/should-you-be-taking-a-telomerase-supplement-every-day
https://www.tasciences.com/what-is-ta-65.html
I have not tried either one, but some other supplements I take are listed as components of the first supplement.
Extracts of the herb astragalus like ta-65 are some of the most potent substances available to lengthen telomeres.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21426483/
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