DNA 'Barcodes' Reveal Secrets of Aging Blood

Scientists have found "barcodes" integrated within DNA that illuminate the process of how blood changes as it ages.

It is anticipated that this finding might aid in preventing conditions like blood cancer or heart disease from developing prior to the onset of symptoms.

This might also open the door for investigating treatments that decelerate or even undo the effects of aging, according to researchers.

The research, featured in the journal Nature, pinpointed stem cells that progressively assume control of blood generation from the age of 50 to 60.

These cells, referred to as "clones," tend to generate myeloid cells, which are a kind of immune cell associated with long-term inflammation.

Adolescents possess anywhere from 50,000 to 200,000 stem cells, tasked with the daily regeneration of roughly 100 billion to 200 billion blood cells.

"As we grow older, certain stem cells vanish, and their role has to be assumed by remaining ones, leading to an expansion of those," explained Dr Lars Velted, who leads a team at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona.

And by the time we reach 50 or 60 years old, these replicas appear. They form as a cluster of cells originating from one single mother stem cell.

And these clones are significant as they represent the initial stage of leukemia development. Additionally, they play a role in inflammation since the blood cells originating from them release molecules that exacerbate the inflammatory process, thereby linking to an increased risk of heart diseases.

Dr Velten states that tracing each blood cell back to its initial stem cell has been achievable solely through animal studies.

His group examined alterations in the chemical labels referred to as methylation marks, which attach to DNA.

These tags assist cells in determining which genes should be activated or deactivated, and upon division of a stem cell, the methylation marks are replicated into both resulting daughter cells.

"This is akin to giving each cell a distinct barcode during our youth, with this barcode later identifying all the progeny—such as the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren—of these cells as we grow older," Dr Velten explained.

To interpret these "barcodes", scientists devised a method called EPI-Clone.

They employed it to rebuild the timeline of blood generation in both mice and humans, identifying which stem cells were involved in producing blood.

In elderly mice, EPI-Clone revealed that blood stem cells constituted only a handful of sizable clones.

This pattern was similarly observed in humans, where bigger clones begin to dominate blood generation after the age of 50.

This finding might enable physicians to examine how a patient's blood is aging someday, possibly even decades prior to the onset of diseases, according to researchers.

Dr Alejo Rodriguez-Fraticelli, who is also a group leader at IRB Barcelona, stated: "Our aim is for this to serve as an initial intervention method for cancers, beginning with blood cancers. We understand that expansions in these stem cells can indicate individuals who are at risk of developing blood malignancies."

The research additionally revealed that numerous prevalent strains generated myeloid cells, which are associated with chronic inflammation.

Research Using mice has demonstrated that eliminating these specific clones can revitalize blood stem cells.

Scientists are optimistic that this tool might lead the way to investigating anti-aging treatments in humans since it enables researchers to identify troublesome clones.

Dr Rodriguez-Fraticelli commented further: "By focusing on these enlarged clones, there might be a chance that we could eliminate them. This action could allow the variety within the hematopoietic system—the mechanism responsible for blood regeneration—to truly regenerate itself."

Dr Velten stated: "To progress from general anti-ageing therapies to genuine precision medicine for aging, tools like these are precisely what we require."

We can't resolve issues we fail to notice, but for the first time, EPI-Clone can make this possible for human beings.

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