Cellular Fountain of Youth: New T-Cell Discovery Rewrites the Rules of Aging

Researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of Minnesota have discovered that the aging of T-cells is not constrained by the age of the organism, enabling these healthy cells to continue multiplying indefinitely.

Most cell types undergo functional decline after extensive proliferation and replication over the years. However, T cells appear to proliferate indefinitely without any negative effects. Researchers from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of Minnesota have explored the distinctive ‘epigenetic clock’ that governs T-cell aging. Their findings show that T cells have the potential to survive beyond the lifespan of an organism, enduring through at least four lifetimes.