As we grow older, the risk of conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and dementia increases.
Although these diseases are very different, many share a common feature: long-lasting inflammation.
Scientists are trying to understand whether controlling this inflammation could help people stay healthier as they age.
Inflammation is normally one of the body’s defenses. When an infection or injury occurs, the immune system sends signals that help fight germs and repair damaged tissue. Once the danger has passed, this response is supposed to calm down.
With chronic inflammation, however, the immune system remains slightly activated for long periods. Aging, smoking, excess body fat, ongoing stress, pollution, and some diseases can contribute to this process. Over time, persistent inflammation may damage healthy cells and interfere with the normal work of organs.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, discovered an important mechanism that may help the body control this response. The research, led by Danica Chen and colleagues, was published in the journal Cell Metabolism. Their work focused on a part of the immune system known as the NLRP3 inflammasome.
The NLRP3 inflammasome works somewhat like an alarm. It helps immune cells recognize signs of infection, injury, or other danger and then produces signals that promote inflammation. This response can be lifesaving when it is needed, but an alarm that stays switched on can become harmful.
Excessive NLRP3 activity has been connected with several diseases that become more common with age. Researchers have therefore been interested in finding ways to control it without shutting down the immune system completely. The Berkeley team discovered that a chemical change to NLRP3 helps determine whether this inflammatory system is active.
A protein called SIRT2 played a major role. SIRT2 can remove a small chemical tag, known as an acetyl group, from NLRP3. Removing this tag reduced activation of the inflammasome, effectively providing the body with a way to turn down the inflammatory response.
The scientists tested the mechanism in immune cells and mice. Mice that lacked SIRT2 developed more inflammation as they grew older. Older animals without the protein also developed greater insulin resistance, meaning their bodies had more difficulty responding normally to insulin.
Insulin helps move glucose from the blood into cells, where it can be used for energy. When the body becomes resistant to insulin, blood sugar can rise, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes. This made the connection between inflammation and metabolic health particularly interesting.
In another experiment, the researchers altered the blood-forming stem cells of older mice so that the animals produced a form of NLRP3 that could not be activated in the usual way. The animals showed improved insulin sensitivity within about six weeks. This suggested that changing this inflammatory pathway could improve an age-related health problem even after it had already developed.
The results do not mean scientists have found a treatment that reverses human aging. The experiments were largely conducted in mice and cells, and therapies that work in animals do not always work safely in people. Much more research is needed before this mechanism could become a treatment for diabetes, dementia, cancer, or other diseases.
Still, the discovery provides scientists with a promising target. Instead of broadly suppressing the immune system, future medicines might be designed to control specific inflammatory signals that become harmful with age. Researchers will need to determine whether this can be done safely without weakening the body’s ability to fight infections.
The findings also add to a growing understanding that aging is influenced by biological processes that may be changeable. Regular exercise, nutritious food, adequate sleep, avoiding smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight are already known to support long-term health, although they cannot completely prevent age-related inflammation.
The Cell Metabolism study gives researchers another clue about why inflammation increases with age and how the body normally keeps it under control. If scientists can safely use this natural “off switch,” it could eventually open new approaches to diseases that currently become harder to treat after damage has accumulated.
If you care about inflammation, please read studies about turmeric: nature’s golden answer to inflammation, and what to eat to reduce chronic Inflammation.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how a plant-based diet could help ease inflammation ,and Vitamin D deficiency linked to increased inflammation.
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