We finally know why the arteries get hard with age and there might be a surprising solution

Hardening our aging arteries has been a difficult process to pin down, but new research may finally provide the answer. This could even bring us closer to treatments that limit this state of the blood vessels, which can increase the risk of heart attack, dementia, and stroke.

We already know that calcium deposits are the reason why arteries stiffen with age, but that does not tell us why this buildup accumulates. According to this latest study, the process could be triggered by a molecule called poly (ADP-Ribose) or PAR.

PAR is a repair protein that is produced when cells or cellular DNA are damaged. because it binds very strongly to calcium, it begins to mop calcium into larger droplets. The study reveals that these droplets solidify, stick to the walls of the arteries and reduce their elasticity.

"This hardening, or biomineralization, is essential for bone production, but it is at the root of many cardiovascular diseases and other age-related diseases, such as dementia," says cell biologist Cathy Shanahan of King's College London in the United Kingdom.

"We wanted to know what triggers the formation of calcium phosphate crystals and why it seems to focus around collagen and elastin, which make up the bulk of the artery wall."

The release of PAR was detected in various cell cultures, including samples of human blood vessels, using a technique called nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), capable of badyzing samples up to the molecular level. .

The involvement of a protein produced by cellular damage is entirely logical, since aging, hypertension and smoking are all known to increase the risk of arterial stiffness. And what they have in common is the damage to the DNA that they are known to cause. thus, if the researchers are right, the damage ends up using PAR to repair them, in turn hardening the arteries as a by-product.

"Until now, we did not know what controlled this process and therefore how to treat it," says biochemist Melinda Duer of the University of Cambridge in the UK.

"We would never have predicted that this had been caused by the PAR.C was initially an accidental discovery, but we followed it – and this led to a potential treatment."

This potential treatment could be centered on an existing antibiotic called minocycline. It is already used to treat acne and, as it has undergone the necessary safety tests, its entire process of adaptation to prevent arterial stiffening could be accelerated.

The team was able to demonstrate the efficacy of minocycline in inhibiting PAR production by short-term initial trials in rats. Clinical trials could take place in the next 18 months, according to the researchers.

It is interesting to note that this part of the research was provided and funded by Cycle Pharmceuticals, a company whose work explicitly includes research into ways to reuse existing drugs on the market.

Although we may not be able to completely stop the stiffening of the arteries, a natural consequence of aging – and healthy lifestyle habits still play an important role – minocycline or a similar drug appears to have the potential to reduce the risk of heart problems. health badociated with these limestone deposits.

That said, antibiotic therapy does not go without its own side effects and costs, so time will tell if this approach will actually lead to a practical solution. However, the more we learn about the subtleties of our cardiovascular health, the better we can help our aging population.

The search was published in Cell reports.