The age of organs in waves accelerating at 50
Aging is a complex process that is played differently in different organs, according to growing evidence
Charter improved by color (CT) of the human heart, highlighting the cardiac conduction system (yellow).
It is a warning that people of average age have long offered young people: aging is not a fluid process. Now, an exhaustive analysis of the way proteins change over time in different organs supports this idea, noting that people experience an inflection point at around 50, after which aging seems to be accelerating.
The study, published on July 25 CellAlso suggests that certain fabrics – especially blood vessels – age faster than others, and it identifies molecules that can speed up time.
The results add to the assembly evidence that aging is not linear, but is rather marked by periods of rapid change. Even thus, more important studies are necessary before scientists can label the age of 50 as a crisis point, explains Maja Olecka, who studies aging at the Leibniz Institute on aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute in Jena, Germany, and was not involved in the study.
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“There are these waves of age-related changes,” she said. “But it is always difficult to make a general conclusion at the time of the inflection points.”
Show their age
Previous work has shown that different organs can age at different rates. To deactivate this, Guanghui Liu, who studies regenerative medicine at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, and his colleagues, collected samples of tissues of 76 people of Chinese ancestry aged 14 to 68 who died of an accidental brain injury. Samples came from organs representing eight of body systems, including cardiovascular, immune and digestive systems.
The researchers then created a collection of proteins found in each of the samples. They found age -related increases in the expression of 48 proteins associated with disease, and have experienced early changes at around 30 years in the adrenal gland, which is responsible for the production of various hormones.
This follows the previous data, explains Michael Snyder, geneticist at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California. “This corresponds to the idea that your hormonal and metabolic control is a big problem,” he says. “This is where some of the deepest changes occur as people age.”
Between the ages of 45 and 55, a turning point is marked by major changes in protein levels. The most dramatic change was found in the aorta, the main artery of the body, which carries oxygenated blood of the heart. The team found a protein produced in the aorta which, when administered to mice, triggers accelerated aging signs. Liu speculates that the blood vessels act like a conduit, carrying molecules which promote aging to distant destinations throughout the body.
The study is an important addition to the others who analyzed the molecules circulating in the blood, rather than the tissue samples taken from individual organs, such as a means of monitoring age -related changes, explains Snyder. “We are like a car,” he says. “Some pieces wear out more quickly.” Knowing which parts are subject to carry and tear can help researchers develop ways to intervene to promote healthy aging, he said.
Halfway to 100
Last year, Snyder and his colleagues found aging inflection points around the ages of 44 and 60 years. Other studies have found accelerated aging at different times, including around 80 years, which was beyond the scope of this study, explains Olecka.
Deposits with other studies can emerge from their use of different types of samples, populations and analytical approaches, explains Liu. As the data accumulate over time, the main molecular pathways involved in aging probably converge through studies, he adds.
These data will accumulate quickly, explains Olecka, because the researchers increasingly incorporate detailed chronological series in their studies, rather than simply comparing “ young ” with “old”. And these results could help researchers interpret these periods of rapid change. “Currently, we do not understand what triggers this transition point,” she says. “It is a really intriguing emerging field.”
This article is reproduced with permission and was first publication July 25, 2025.
