Key points from article :
Researchers discovered how changes in aging skeletal stem cells may cause poor fracture healing, osteoporosis and various blood disorders as well as inflamm-aging of cells and systems.
Skeletal stem cells were less active in older mice.
By altering the development of blood and immune stem cells, aged bone cells may accelerate aging and disease.
Saw an increase in inflammatory factors, mainly Colony-stimulating factor 1 (Csf1), interfering the healing process.
Saw decreases in the expression of other genes, in particular bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2).
When treated a fracture in an aged mouse with BMP and an antibody that reduced the level of Csf1, the fracture healed much better.
"We may be able to make aged fracture healing more like youthful fracture healing," - Michael Longaker, senior author..
"Addressing changes that occur as skeletal stem cells age, we may end up reducing age-related changes and disease," Charles Chan, senior study.
Study by Stanford University published in Nature.
