Thread by @microbeminded2

Our new review is out! We detail mechanisms by which the viral, bacterial, parasite, and other pathogens that infect humans over a lifetime accelerate features of aging: sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

2/ Specifically, viruses such as the herpesviruses, as well as intracellular bacteria & parasites—express proteins and metabolites capable of interfering with host immune signaling, #mitochondrial function, gene expression, and the #epigenetic environment.

3/ Pathogen activity also contributes directly to age-related disease development: for example, #Alzheimer’s amyloid-β plaque can act as an antimicrobial peptide that forms in response to infection. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30001512/

4/ Indeed, because many pathogens dysregulate mTOR, AMPK, or related immunometabolic signaling, #healthspan interventions such as low-dose rapamycin, metformin, and NAD+ that target such pathways may exert part of their effect by controlling persistent infection.

5/ The lack of #diagnostics capable of detecting pathogen activity across a lifetime remains a major bottleneck. Emerging tools—such as ultrasensitive protein assays and antigen immune biosensor platforms—can enable integration of pathogen detection into biological age tracking.

6/ We are creating a @polybioRF program specifically focused on developing such diagnostics, which will innovate the longevity space. Message me if you want to learn more.

@polybioRF 7/ Overall we must incorporate infection into aging to models to accurately characterize drivers of #senescence and to optimize therapeutic strategies that target both host and microbial contributors to aging

@polybioRF 8/ Simply put: no one will succeed in extending healthspan/lifespan if they have a virus or parasite in their brain seeding Alzheimer’s plaque or distorting the epigenetic environment

@polybioRF 9/ And some of the therapeutic strategies capable of mitigating infectious contributions to aging are such low hanging fruit to implement

@polybioRF 10/ For example, this study found that people who routinely took over the counter anti-herpesvirus drugs were 10X less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease later in life: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29488144/

@polybioRF 11/ I'll be giving a @TEDx talk on infectious contributions to aging, and solutions to combat such age distortion this October in Boston. For now, check out this podcast where I go into more detail on the topic:

@polybioRF @TEDx 12/ @bryan_johnson @davidasinclair @KarlPfleger @lifeext @allisondman @DrGlorioso @BuckInstitute @mkaeberlein @mahdi_moqri @agingbiomarkers @justinqtaylor @VitalikButerin