A cancer-fighting immune therapy helped aging guts repair themselves and stay healthier for a year.
Many people find that foods they once enjoyed become harder to digest as they get older. One reason may be damage to the intestinal epithelium, the thin, single layer of cells that lines the intestine. This lining is essential for digestion and overall gut function.
Under healthy conditions, the intestinal epithelium fully renews itself every three to five days. Aging and exposure to cancer radiation can interfere with this process, slowing or even halting regeneration. When renewal breaks down, inflammation can increase, and disorders such as leaky gut syndrome may follow.
A New Strategy to Repair the Aging Intestine
Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have now developed a new method to stimulate healing and cell growth in the intestine. Their approach uses CAR T-cell therapy, a form of immunotherapy that has gained attention for its success in cancer treatment. The scientists believe this strategy could eventually support clinical trials aimed at improving gut health in people affected by age-related intestinal decline.
Clearing Senescent Cells Linked to Aging Disease
The new findings build on earlier work by CSHL Assistant Professor Corina Amor Vegas, whose research focuses on cellular senescence. As people age, senescent cells accumulate throughout the body. These cells no longer divide, yet they also do not die, allowing them to linger and disrupt normal tissue function. Senescent cells have been connected to many age-related illnesses, including diabetes and dementia.
In previous studies, Amor Vegas and her team created specialized immune cells known as anti-uPAR CAR T cells that selectively removed senescent cells in mice, leading to major improvements in metabolic health.
