Abstract
Our dream of defeating the processes of aging has occupied the curious and has challenged scientists globally for hundreds of years. The history is long, and sadly, the solution is still elusive. Our endeavors to reverse the magnitude of damaging cellular and molecular alterations resulted in only a few, yet significant advancements. Furthermore, as our lifespan increases, physicians are facing more mind-bending questions in their routine practice than ever before. Although the ultimate goal is to successfully treat the body as a whole, steps towards regenerating individual organs are even considered significant. As our initial approach to enhance the endogenous restorative capacity by delivering exogenous progenitor cells appears limited, we propose, utilizing small molecules critical during embryonic development may prove to be a powerful tool to increase regeneration and to reverse the processes associated with aging. In this review, we introduce Thymosin beta-4, a 43aa secreted peptide fulfilling our hopes and capable of numerous regenerative achievements via systemic administration in the heart. Observing the broad capacity of this small, secreted peptide, we believe it is not the only molecule which nature conceals to our benefit. Hence, the discovery and postnatal administration of developmentally relevant agents along with other approaches may result in reversing the aging process.
Highlights
Aging is an inherent resultant of living, which is well conserved among the species [1]
We suggest the conceptual and therapeutic approach of aging could significantly benefit from observing, extending, and harnessing our knowledge regarding embryonic development, and that utilizing these findings throughout our adult life may significantly re-enhance the regenerative potential of the human body
There are numerous factors which become altered within the first few weeks of life. This was wonderfully summarized by Talman et al [41], who provide a thorough review regarding mRNA, protein, and metabolite interchanges of the neonatal heart suitable for identification of metabolism-related mechanisms associated with cardiac regeneration. Another potential alternative for post-hypoxic cardiac cell replacement may be the induction of adult cardiomyocytes to re-enter the cell cycle and to advance into mitosis and cytokinesis [42] by utilizing pro- and anti-mitotic regulatory RNAs [43,44], long noncoding RNAs [45], proteins, hormones, and other metabolites involved in proliferation pathways [27,46,47]
Summary
Aging is an inherent resultant of living, which is well conserved among the species [1]. The leading five causes of Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) rates are non-communicable age-related diseases [3] placing immense economic, social, and healthcare burdens upon society. Researchers around the globe are conducting a vast number of investigations to better understand the physiological and molecular background of the process of aging. Over the span of time, the human body undergoes numerous alterations, including loss of muscle mass, increase in body fat, water loss in the tissues, and decreased bone density, all resulting in varying degenerative processes regarding our physiological make-up [4]. The impact of the environment, parental health, lifestyle, and social interactions, much as physical activity during early and later life seemingly bears an significant role upon the aging processes and tissue soundness [5,6]. The biggest challenge of our era is to understand and successfully intercede with the various molecular pathways responsible for these alterations
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