A new study in young and old mice were surgically joined so that they shared blood circulation for three months showed that the old mice did not benefit significantly in terms of life expectancy.
Scientists wanted to prove, as they suspected, if performing a blood transfusion from a younger organism to an older one, the latter could benefit and eventually improve their life expectancies.
There is a long-standing hypothesis that surgical connection of an old mouse with a young rodent causes a blood transfer that reduces the age of the older animal.
To test this hypothesis, Irina Conboy, a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, and a group of researchers transfused blood between young and old mice. Three-month-old animals obtained blood from animals approaching two years of age.
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But on the contrary, the tests also revealed that young mice became weak after receiving blood from older rodents.
Young mice exposed to blood from old animals had significantly shorter lifespans compared to mice that shared blood with other young mice.
The research was published in the peer-reviewed journal Rejuvenation Research.
Two weeks after receiving the blood, young mice had higher numbers of senescent cells — cells in the liver, kidneys, and muscles that are damaged and stop dividingbut they don’t die. These cells accumulate as a normal part of aging, beginning after a few years of life in people.
“Cellular senescence is just one part of the aging process,” Conboy said. “That opens up new horizons and helps explain why the senolytics [medicamentos que eliminan las células senescentes del cuerpo] so far in clinical trials They were less successful than people expected. added the researcher, quoted by an article on the Newscientist portal.
Transfusion of blood from older rodents into young mice rapidly triggers aging, suggesting that cellular aging is not just a case of wear and tear.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a blood transfusion is a routine medical procedure in which the patient receives donated blood through a narrow tube placed in a vein in the arm.
This potentially life-saving procedure helps replace blood that is lost due to surgery or injury. Blood transfusion can also be helpful when disease prevents the body from producing blood or some of the blood components adequately.
Usually, blood transfusions are performed without complications. If complications do occur, they are usually mild.