Cell death pathway may influence new brain cells in animals
In animal experiments, altering an iron-dependent cell death pathway affected new nerve cell formation and behavior, with outcomes differing by age and test.
Limit: The abstract does not identify which outcomes improved in aged animals
Stake: An author holds shares in Alterity.
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Neural precursor cells in the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory, were the focus of laboratory assays and animal experiments. These cells can give rise to new brain cells. Researchers examined ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death, using gene activity analyses and genetic and drug-based interventions in animals.
Precursor cells showed features consistent with greater susceptibility to this stress than more specialized hippocampal cells. Across the experiments, reducing the enzyme glutathione peroxidase 4 or increasing ferroptosis-related stress impaired cellular and behavioral outcomes associated with new nerve cell formation. In aged animals, changing the pathway improved selected outcomes. Effects depended on age and the behavioral test.
Why it matters
The age-related decline in new nerve cell formation makes the stresses governing precursor-cell survival relevant to questions about cognition in later life.
Caveats
These were animal experiments and laboratory assays, not a study in people. The abstract does not identify the animal species, sample sizes or which outcomes improved in aged animals.
The paper
The University of Queensland
Cell Stem Cell, May 22, 2026, Open access
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