Brain, because fewer neurons are born with age

The brain's ability to

decreases with

because a protein crucial for stem cell proliferation,

, decreases: increasing its levels allows

to

improving the

.

This is demonstrated by a study conducted on mice by the research group of Sebastian Jessberger of the Brain Research Institute at the University of Zurich.

The results, published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, could open up

.

"As we get older, whole-body stem cells gradually lose their ability to proliferate," explains the study's first author, Khadeesh bin Imtiaz.

"Thanks to genetic engineering and a frontier technology in the field of microscopy, we were able to identify a mechanism associated with this process."

The researchers found that lamin B1 plays a

in the division of neural stem cells: localized in their nucleus, it sorts the harmful proteins accumulated over time and distributes them to the two daughter cells.

Due to aging, however, the levels of lamina B1 are reduced: thus the breakdown of harmful proteins is altered and consequently proliferation is compromised.

The researchers were able for the first time to reverse the process in elderly mice by increasing lamina B1: this has in fact allowed to improve cell division and the production of new neurons.

“We now know it

” says Jessberger.

“Our hope is that this result will one day increase neurogenesis levels, for example in the elderly or those suffering from degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, although it will take many years to achieve this.

Although our study is limited to brain stem cells - concludes Jessberger - it is possible that similar mechanisms also occur in the aging of other stem cells ”.