Some newbie pathways…Extra Cellular Matrix (ECM) and Matrisome.
"Accumulation of damage is generally considered the cause of aging. Interventions that delay aging mobilize mechanisms that protect and repair cellular components. Consequently, research has been focused on studying the protective and homeostatic mechanisms within cells. However, in humans and other multicellular organisms, cells are surrounded by extracellular matrices (ECM), which are important for tissue structure, function, and intercellular communication. During aging, components of the ECM become damaged through fragmentation, glycation, crosslinking, and accumulation of protein aggregation, all of which contribute to age-related pathologies. Interestingly, placing senescent cells into a young ECM rejuvenates them. Furthermore, we found that many longevity-assurances pathways re-activate de-novo synthesis of ECM proteins during aging. This raises the question of what constitutes a young ECM to reverse aging or maintain health? In order to make inroads to answering this question, I suggest a systems-level approach of quantifying the matrisome or ECM compositions reflecting health, pathology, or phenotype and propose a novel term, the “matreotype”, to describe this. The matreotype is defined as the composition and modification of ECM or matrisome proteins associated with or caused by a phenotype, such as longevity, or a distinct and acute physiological state, as observed during aging or disease. Every cell type produces its unique ECM. Intriguingly, cancer-cell types can even be identified based on their unique ECM composition. Thus, the matreotype reflects cellular identity and physiological status. Defined matreotypes could be used as biomarkers or prognostic factors for disease or health status during aging with potential relevance for personalized medicine.
Treatment with biologics that alter ECM-to-cell mechanotransduction might be a strategy to
reverse age-associated pathologies.
An understanding of how to reverse from an old to a young matreotype might point towards novel strategies"
There are some STRONG confounders in this “association” study. The reductions in CVD and ACM just seem way too high an intervention result.
“The c2 analysis results presented in Table 1 show that respondents who were taking
glucosamine/chondroitin were more likely to be older, white, having a high school or higher education, not smoking, and exercising more. Other possibilities include that otherwise-healthy people take supplements, and therefore live longer. People could have been taking other supplements that could have accounted for some of the findings”
From the posted paper:
“Chondroitin sulfate supplementation is associated with reducing all-cause mortality in humans and increasing the lifespan of model organisms. But many gaps remain in our understanding of how chondroitin sulfate supplementation improves health during aging”
Looks like yet another aging theory that needs more work. Not convinced that in HUMANS, a singular pathway is associated with longevity.
