Antibody therapy makes the immune systems of old mice young again
A novel antibody therapy makes the immune system of old mice appear younger, allowing the animals to better fend off infections and reduce inflammation. Antibodies are proteins that can target and attack certain cells. An experimental therapy has been found to rejuvenate the immune systems of older mice, enhancing their capacity to combat infections. Should this treatment prove effective in humans, it could potentially reverse the age-related deterioration in immunity that renders older individuals more vulnerable to diseases. This decline in immunity might stem from alterations in our blood stem cells, which have the potential to evolve into any blood cell type, including vital elements of the immune system. With age, an increasing number of these stem cells are inclined to generate certain immune cells rather than others, according to Jason Ross from Stanford University in California. Such an imbalance compromises the immune system's infection-fighting abilities and contributes t...