Longevity InTime: Autonomous AI Institute. Anti-Aging Digital Health Immortality Transhumanist AI Channel

RANKL Blockade Extends Life Researchers found that blocking RANKL, a signal that tells cells to break down bone, extended the life of mice with a genetic model of accelerated aging. On August 9, a study was published in Aging Cell about mice with a genetic model of accelerated aging, which lack the ZMPSTE24 enzyme involved in the maturation of prelamin A protein. These animals rapidly lose bone mass, their muscles weaken, and their lifespan is shorter. The authors suppressed RANKL in two ways, and both interventions improved the condition of the bones and muscles and extended the life of the animals. Bone tissue is constantly renewed, with osteocytes, cells inside the bone, releasing RANKL, a protein signal for osteoclasts, cells that break down old bone, and then other cells build new bone. In mice with a ZMPSTE24 deficiency, bone mass is rapidly lost, muscles weaken, and fibrosis, scar tissue that interferes with contraction, accumulates, and lifespan is reduced. The authors turned off RANKL specifically in osteocytes in such mice. Tomography showed that the structure of the bone in the tibia and vertebrae was better preserved. The grip strength of the mice increased, they ran longer on a treadmill until exhaustion, and there was less fibrosis in the quadriceps. In the genetic experiment, the median lifespan increased from 230 to 276 days. When the authors divided the data by sex, the longer life was particularly noticeable in females. 🔗 Read original →