By blocking the action of the DUSP6 protein, it can stop the unfavorable age-related changes in the immune system, US researchers report in Nature Medicine.
The aging process of the body has a number of negative consequences. One is impaired immune system function, leading to an increased risk of infection, cancer development, and a weaker response to immunization.
According to scientists from Stanford University School of Medicine, the accumulation of DUSP6 protein in the body contributes to the deterioration of human immunity, the amount of which systematically increases over the years.
However, researchers found that blocking the effects of DUSP6 protein could improve the quality of vaccine effects in elderly people.
DUSP6 reduces the ability of immune cells to recognize foreign bodies and substances in the body, but by blocking its action restores the immune cells to their youthful functioning level.
Researchers emphasize that the diminished response to vaccination in older people is a serious problem, as about 90 percent of the The people dying from flu are men and women over the age of 65.
“Harmful changes in the human immune system are slow, but they start in their forties,” explains Jorg Goronzy, senior author of the study, and cites several figures. young adults respond to most vaccines, and in their 90s the proportion of responders drops to about 40-45 percent. It may be as high as 20% for some vaccines ».
For now, improving the functioning of the human immune system relates only to the aspect of taking vaccines, but researchers believe that one day they will be able to completely stop the adverse changes in the human immune system caused by aging (PAP).
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