Removing Aged Brain Cells Enhances Endothelial Progenitor Integration and Tissue Regeneration

2025. jan. 21. | News

The Neurovascular Unit Research Group of the HUN-REN Institute of Biophysics presented the results of their research aimed at preventing damage to cerebral circulation caused by disease or aging in the journal Stem Cell Resarch & Therapy.

Maintaining brain homeostasis requires the coordinated function of the neural and vascular cells that constitute the neurovascular unit. This coordination is manifested in two primary functions of the neurovascular unit: neurovascular coupling ensures that blood supply is precisely aligned with energy consumption, while the blood-brain barrier strictly regulates material transport between the blood and brain tissue. Impairment of these functions can have severe consequences, which is why the loss of vascular function plays a significant role in the pathological mechanisms of brain aging and most neurological diseases.

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play an essential role in repairing vascular damage. The research group uncovered new details about this process and discovered that removing aging cells can enhance the incorporation of progenitor cells into the cerebral vascular network, as well as the tissue regeneration induced by these cells. The findings of the study may open new therapeutic avenues for treating vascular damage associated with aging and age-related diseases.

The cover photo is generated by DALL-E.