Seoul National University, Professor Kang Chanhee's Team Establishes 'New Foundation for Aging Treatment'

New Pathway for Aging Treatment Discovered by Seoul National University Research Team

Seoul National University announced on the 15th that the research team led by Professor Kang Chan-hee of the Department of Life Sciences has established a new foundation for aging treatment.

Seoul National University located in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The research team discovered that inhibiting changes in the cytoskeleton can prevent inflammation in aging cells. Changes in the cytoskeleton occur as cells enlarge due to aging. Aging cells typically grow 2 to 10 times larger than normal cells. Until now, cellular hypertrophy in aging cells was believed to have no impact on the organism, but the research team presented findings that hypertrophy alters the cytoskeleton, leading to the expression of inflammatory factors.

Through experiments on laboratory mice, the research team demonstrated that when aging cells enlarge, the 'physical stimulus sensor (YAP)', which senses environmental factors such as pressure, is activated to regulate cytoskeletal changes. Furthermore, big data analysis confirmed that this phenomenon also applies to the human aging process.

This research was supported by the Seokyeongbae Science Foundation, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and others, and was published last month in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Professor Kang said, "This study is scientifically significant as it is the first to identify the regulation and mechanism of hypertrophy in aging cells," adding, "It suggests a new therapeutic strategy for aging by suppressing aging-related inflammatory responses."

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