In the coming months, the first clinical trial of a drug designed to restore the functions of aging immune cells will begin in the United Kingdom. Scientists at University College London (UCL) are launching phase I trials of a therapy aimed at so-called senescent T lymphocytes — cells of the immune system that, with age or chronic disease, gradually lose efficiency and become less able to protect the body from infections, tumors and other threats.
After intramuscular injection, the drug is supposed to reprogram molecular processes linked to immune aging so that the cells once again function as effectively as they did in youth. In the first stage, researchers will assess the safety of the therapy.
The main target is CD4+ T cells — key coordinators of the immune response. Previous studies have shown that after their activity is restored, they can release structures containing telomeres — sections of chromosomes associated with a cell’s biological age. Researchers are now trying to determine whether this mechanism also helps protect other tissues in the body.
Over the past few years, science has repeatedly shown that some signs of cellular aging can be partially reversed. If the concept is confirmed in human clinical trials, it could open a new direction in medicine, where treatment focuses not only on fighting individual diseases, but also on addressing age-related weakening of the immune system.
