Rapamycin helps immune cells resist aging

The researchers explain this through the mTOR pathway, which controls cell growth, metabolism, and survival. As we age, immune cells accumulate DNA damage, which leads to fatigue and a decrease in the body’s protective functions. Rapamycin in small doses is able to mute these processes, making cells more resistant to stress.

The experiment involved nine 65-75-year-old men who received either a low dose of rapamycin or a placebo for four months. The scientists monitored the condition of the immune cells, checking how they cope with DNA damage.

The cells were specially stressed with chemicals that cause DNA damage. Rapamycin suppressed the main damage signals, reduced stress proteins, and helped cells activate the process of autophagy, the protective recycling of damaged components.

The results are impressive: after 24 hours under the influence of the damaging substance, the survival rate of cells with rapamycin was more than 60%, while without it it was only about 20%. In addition, there was a decrease in aging markers in different subtypes of immune cells, which indicates direct protection of their genome.

It is noted that the effect of rapamycin may be useful not only for healthy aging, but also for protection after radiation exposure, as well as for future space travel, where cells encounter cosmic radiation.

The experiment provides reliable evidence that existing drugs can become a tool for the biological protection of our cells. Although rapamycin does not turn people into immortals, it opens the way to safe strategies to slow down aging and strengthen the immune system.