{"id":15096014,"date":"2026-04-02T14:24:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/scientists-think-theyve-found-a-way-to-stop-ageing-zombie-cells\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T15:23:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:23:29","slug":"scientists-think-theyve-found-a-way-to-stop-ageing-zombie-cells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/scientists-think-theyve-found-a-way-to-stop-ageing-zombie-cells\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists Think They've Found A Way To Stop Ageing 'Zombie Cells'"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As we age, our bodies lose some resilience<\/a>, which can lead to less movement throughout the day and an increased risk of facing multiple chronic diseases at once (multimorbidity).\u00a0<\/p>\n

This happens partly because senescent cells, sometimes called \u201czombie\u201d cells<\/a>, stop dividing and build up. They secrete<\/a> \u201cproinflammatory molecules that contribute to chronic inflammation and ageing-related diseases\u201d.<\/p>\n

A process called senolysis usually clears<\/a> these away, but as we get older, that cleaning system becomes less efficient.<\/p>\n

But scientists from the University of Kyoto<\/a> think they\u2019ve found a way to slow or stop the production of these \u201czombie cells\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How did the researchers stop \u201czombie cells\u201d from building up?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Though we knew that \u201czombie cells\u201d seemed to create inflammation that affected nearby cells, scientists weren\u2019t sure about how this went on to affect someone\u2019s body.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These researchers looked closer at the senescent cells themselves and found they heavily relied on glycolysis (using sugar for energy), a process which is also involved in the spreading of cancer cells<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Using bioluminescence to help see what was going on in the cell better, scientists found that two enzymes were crucial to glycolysis in \u201czombie cells\u201d. Their binding was increased in sensecent cells.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, when they were able to interrupt that key interaction, researchers could selectively \u201cdelete\u201d zombie cells.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In mice, the change was linked to reduced lung fibrosis.<\/p>\n

They also found that when this activity was diminished, a protein that triggers cell death was suppressed too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What might this mean?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The study authors hope<\/a> this might help to maintain resilience in older age.<\/p>\n

That way, it\u2019s hoped, the risk of multimorbidity might go down.<\/p>\n

This study\u2019s corresponding author,\u00a0Hiroshi Kondoh, said<\/a>: \u201cOur findings in glycolytic regulation suggest that impaired metabolic resilience in ageing is one of the targets for senotherapy, to aid in preservation of resilience in ageing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Related…<\/h3>\n