New class of drugs prevents significant aging mechanism in organ transplants

2023-09-17 22:03:05

Athens, Greece (ots/PRNewswire) – A new study has shown that Senolytics, a new class of drugs, has the potential to prevent the transmission of senescence, a key mechanism of aging, in recipients of older donor organs.

Groundbreaking research presented today at the European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT) 2023 Congress opens promising avenues for expanding the organ donor pool and improving patient outcomes.

By transplanting older donor organs into younger recipients, researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic studied the role of transplantation in triggering senescence, a biological mechanism associated with aging and age-related diseases. The researchers performed age-varying heart transplants from both young (3 months) and old (18 to 21 months) mice to younger recipients. Recipients of old hearts showed an increased frequency of senescent cells draining lymph nodes, livers and muscles, as well as increased systemic mt-DNA levels, compared to recipients who received young transplants. It was noticeable that transplantation of old organs led to advanced physical and cognitive impairments in recipients.

The study also discovered a potential solution to this process through the use of Senolytics — a new class of drugs designed to target and eliminate senescent cells. When old donors were treated with Senolytics (dasatinib and quercetin) prior to organ procurement, transmission of senescence was significantly reduced through reduced accumulation of senescent cells and mt-DNA. Recipients who received old organs treated with Senolytics demonstrated improved physical fitness comparable to observations in young organ recipients.

Maximillian J. Roesel, who presented the study as part of the group at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, commented: “Donor age plays a critical role in transplant success, with recipients of older organs having worse outcomes. “Still, the use of older donor organs is critical to combating the global organ shortage, and this research highlights fundamental challenges and potential solutions to the use of older organs.”

“In the future, we will further investigate the potential role of Senolytics in preventing the transmission of senescence in humans. This research is extremely exciting as it can help us improve outcomes and also make more organs available for transplantation,” concluded Stefan G. Tullius, the study’s lead author.

Note for editors:

A reference to the ESOT Congress 2023 must be included in all reports.

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