From WN.com, Jack Durschlag

It’s too early to tell yet, but scientists have discovered a way to extend lab mice lives by 40 percent in a process that one day could be used as a treatment to expand human lifespans, according to a report from CBS News.

Simply increasing the levels of a hormone known as FGF21, according to a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has been shown to protect against immune function loss that’s part of the aging process.

Scientists at Yale School of Medicine, led by study author Vishwa Deep Dixit, Ph.D, say previous studies have shown the benefit the hormone has in enhancing mice lifespans and possibly treatment for type 2 diabetes, but this latest research is the first to suggest FGF21 can protect against age-related decline of immune function in mice – a finding with huge human implications.

“Our research team is the first to show that FGF21 is a potential target for enhancing T cell function in the elderly and in cancer patients that undergo bone marrow transplantation.” Dr. Vishwa Deep Dixit, Yale School of Medicine

The report explains FGF21 is predominantly produced in the liver, but is also found in the thymus, a small organ located between the lungs that is an important part of the body’s immune system. The thymus produces infection-fighting T cells, when functioning normally, but as we age, it becomes fatty and loses this ability, leading to an increased risk of infections and certain cancers in the elderly.

The scientists in the study manipulated levels of FGF21 in mice and found increasing amounts in older mice protected the thymus from age-related fatty degeneration and increased the ability of the thymus to produce new T cells. On the other hand, a hormone deficiency led to accelerated degeneration of the thymus in old mice.

Dixit urged caution as to when the treatment would be available for humans as well as how long an improvement in lifespan would work out to.

IMAGES:

Photo: AP / Oak Ridge National Lab, Curtis Boles

Photo: Creative Commons / Mpeinado

FGF21
Fibroblast growth factor 21 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the FGF21 gene. The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family. FGF family members possess broad mitogenic and cell survival activities and are involved in a variety of biological processes including embryonic development, cell growth, morphogenesis, tissue repair, tumor growth and invasion.

FGF21 is specifically induced by HMGCS2 activity. The oxidized form of ketone bodies (acetoacetate) in a cultured medium also induced FGF21, possibly via a SIRT1-dependent mechanism. HMGCS2 activity has also been shown to be increased by deacetylation of lysines 310, 447, and 473 via SIRT3 in the mitochondria.

In mice, brown adipose tissue becomes a source of systemic FGF21 after cold exposure. Norepinephrine, acting via β-adrenergic, cAMP-mediated, mechanisms and subsequent activation of protein kinase A and p38 MAPK, induces FGF21 gene transcription and also FGF21 release in brown adipocytes. ATF2 binding to the FGF21 gene promoter mediates cAMP-dependent induction of FGF21 gene transcription. Release of FGF21 by brown fat in vivo was accompanied by a reduction in systemic FGF21 half-life.

For more on this story go to:  http://article.wn.com/view/2016/01/14/yale_medicall_school_study_finds_hormone_that_extends_labora/