Restoring an enzyme improved blood vessel function in aged mice
Restoring the enzyme NNMT in cells lining blood vessels improved vessel widening and reduced arterial stiffness in aged mice; lowering NNMT worsened both.
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Interventions- Studied:
- Experiments in animals
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Aged mice in an animal experiment received viruses designed to restore or reduce the enzyme NNMT in endothelial cells, which line blood vessels. Restoring NNMT improved blood vessel widening and reduced arterial stiffness. Reducing NNMT worsened both problems.
NNMT levels also declined in endothelial cells from mouse aortas and in senescent human umbilical vein endothelial cells—cells that had stopped dividing. A small, exploratory comparison of older and younger male donors linked older age to lower NNMT in the inner lining of carotid arteries next to plaques. The authors concluded that NNMT helps maintain endothelial function through coordinated regulation of proteins in the cell nucleus and the cellular stress response.
Why it matters
Age-related decline in blood vessel function raises the question of how cells lining vessels maintain their function. The authors identify NNMT and its linked stress-response pathway as potential targets for addressing that decline.
Caveats
The experiments in mice do not show whether restoring NNMT would improve blood vessel function in people. The human comparison involved only men with diseased carotid arteries.
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