While we can try to slow it down, human aging is something we currently can’t stop from happening. However, past studies show that aging doesn’t necessarily happen at the same pace throughout our life.
Instead, there are certain ages when a person’s body may experience a burst of aging. Previous studies show that the body may undergo rapid aging around the ages of 44 and 60Trusted Source.
And there is still much to discover about the aging process, especially when it comes to how it impacts the body’s organs.
“Aging, as a systemic, degenerative process that spans multiple organs and biological strata, remains one of the most profound unresolved questions in the life sciences,” Guang-Hui Liu, PhD, regenerative medicine researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained to Medical News Today.
“Throughout the extended human lifespan, two fundamental issues persist: Do all organ systems adhere to a unified aging rhythm? Does a molecular spatiotemporal hub exist that orchestrates organism-wide senescence? Despite their centrality to understanding the essence of aging, these questions have long lacked systematic, empirical resolution.” For this study, researchers analyzed 516 samples of 13 types of human tissues collected from 76 organ donors between the ages of 14 and 68 who had passed away from traumatic brain injury.
The tissue samples included cardiovascular, digestive, respiratory, endocrine, and musculoskeletal samples, as well as immune system, skin, and blood samples.
Next, researchers documented the types of proteins found in the organ and tissue samples, allowing them to create what Liu called “a proteomic aging atlas” that spans 50 years of human life.
“Covering seven physiological systems and thirteen pivotal tissues, the atlas presents a panoramic, dynamic portrait of organismal aging from a protein-centric perspective,” Liu explained. “The more than 20,000 proteins encoded by the genome serve as the structural bedrock of cells; their dynamic networks exquisitely orchestrate physiological homeostasis and act as the principal executors of virtually every biological process.”
“Consequently, systematically charting a panoramic, lifespan-wide atlas of proteomic dynamics and dissecting the reprogramming rules of protein networks at organ- and system-level scales are pivotal for accurately identifying the core drivers of aging and for establishing precise intervention targets,” he added. “Science is only beginning to understand the biological mechanisms involved in aging,” Chen said. “Studies like this help us to identify the basis of normal aging, and in turn provides insight into how deviations in normal biology lead to diseases such as cardiovascular disease and fatty liver disease. Ultimately, this will help us understand how to keep our patients healthy and aging well. It may also help us to develop new therapies for diseases that result from accelerated aging.”
“Future research should attempt to expand on these findings in more diverse demographic groups and as well as in other important organs such as the brain and kidneys,” he added.
