Immune System Holy Grail
Monday, October 27, 2025
As our hairs go gray and our muscles weaken with age, our immune system also changes. In particular, the stem cells that become blood or immune cells can develop mutations, potentially leading to cancers or other dysfunctions.
Researchers at UIC, including some University of Illinois Cancer Center members, have discovered an important cellular mechanism that drives this aging: the lack of a protein called platelet factor 4, whose levels decrease with age, they report in the journal Blood. What’s more, adding this protein to old blood cells reversed these signs of aging, which points to a promising therapeutic target for preventing or improving age-related disorders in the blood and immune systems.
Sandra Pinho, PhD
Their work was featured in UIC Today.
Study authors include Sandra Pinho, PhD, Constantinos Chronis, PhD, and Sang Ging Ong, PhD, members of the Cancer Center Cancer Biology Research Program and faculty members in the University of Illinois College of Medicine at UIC.
The Cancer Center is part of UIC and its academic health system, UI Health.
