When entering middle age, APC in white adipose tissue (WAT) "wakes up" strongly, begins to duplicate and differentiate into new fat cells at high speed - Photo: Stock
This group of stem cells is highly active in middle age, promoting the body to produce a large number of fat cells, increasing the risk of disease and shortening life expectancy.
Why does waist size increase with age?
In a study published in the journal Science , scientists at the Arthur Riggs Institute for Diabetes and Metabolism, City of Hope (USA), in collaboration with the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), said: the aging process not only causes fat cells (adipocytes) to swell, but also stimulates the body to produce new fat cells massively, especially in the abdominal area.
For a long time, medicine has noted that human waistlines tend to expand, lose muscle, and increase visceral fat as we age, even though total body weight remains unchanged, but the specific biological mechanism has not been elucidated.
Experiments on mice showed that: adipocyte precursor cells (APCs) from old mice were able to generate large amounts of new fat cells, even when transplanted into young mice. In contrast, APCs from young mice did not produce many fat cells when transplanted into old mice.
This demonstrates that intrinsic changes in APC cells due to age, rather than the body environment, determine the rapid fat accumulation.
New stem cell type discovered that "wakes up" causing large waistlines in middle age
Scientists analyzed using single-cell RNA sequencing techniques and found that when entering middle age, APCs in white adipose tissue (WAT) of mice "wake up" vigorously, begin to duplicate and differentiate into new fat cells at a high rate.
Not only that, the team also discovered a new type of stem cell, called committed preadipocytes, age-specific (CP-A).
These CP-As act as particularly efficient “fat factories,” explaining why belly fat accumulates rapidly in middle and old age.
"While most adult stem cells decline in their regenerative capacity with age, APCs and especially CP-A increase their activity, contributing to abdominal enlargement," said study co-author Dr. Adolfo Garcia-Ocana.
Age-related abdominal obesity is a high risk factor for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver and many other diseases - Photo: lifespan
The study also showed that a molecular signal called leukemia inhibitory receptor (LIFR) plays a "key" role in activating CP-A to divide and create fat.
In young mice, adipogenesis occurs without LIFR. But in old mice, LIFR becomes a required factor, promoting CP-A proliferation and new fat production.
To verify this, the scientists continued to study human fat tissue samples of different ages. The results also showed the presence of CP-A and an increase in the number of these cells in the tissue of middle-aged people.
Notably, CP-A in humans also has a very strong ability to create fat cells, similar to that in mouse tissue.
The research results open up new directions in preventing age-related abdominal obesity, a high risk factor for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver and many other diseases.
Next steps will focus on: monitoring the movement of CP-A in vivo, determining how to remove or inactivate CP-A, with the aim of developing therapies to prevent or slow fat accumulation in middle age.
Identifying the role of LIFR opens up opportunities to search for therapeutic interventions, developing strategies to block CP-A or LIFR signaling to control abdominal fat and prolong healthy human lifespan in the future.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/he-lo-nguyen-nhan-khien-vong-eo-phinh-to-o-tuoi-trung-nien-20250427205746087.htm
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