Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Dec 08, 2025 54 minutes ago
Medical News: Understanding How the Body Ages from Within
Scientists from the Department of Cardiology at West China Hospital, Sichuan University in China have uncovered new insights into how a protein called RUNX1 contributes to aging and various chronic diseases. This
Medical News report reveals that RUNX1, originally known for its role in blood cell development, may also be a master controller of harmful inflammation that accelerates aging in the heart, brain, and blood system.
RUNX1 protein fuels inflammation and aging across the heart, brain, and blood systems
The Role of RUNX1 in Aging and Inflammation
As we grow older, our bodies experience a slow-burning, chronic form of inflammation—known as “inflammaging”—which plays a major role in diseases like heart disease, dementia, diabetes, and cancer. RUNX1 becomes increasingly active during this aging process, driven by stress and signals from the immune system. It boosts the production of inflammatory chemicals and damages cells by triggering oxidative stress and interfering with DNA repair.
What makes RUNX1 even more concerning is its ability to lock the body into a damaging cycle. Once turned on, it doesn’t just respond to inflammation—it keeps the inflammation going. It activates other harmful genes, changes how DNA is structured, and stops tissues from repairing themselves, worsening health over time.
How RUNX1 Damages the Heart, Brain, and Blood
In the heart, RUNX1 promotes scarring and thickening of tissues, making the heart weaker and more likely to fail. It also blocks regeneration by preventing heart stem cells from growing. In the brain, RUNX1 fuels inflammation by activating harmful signals in brain cells, leading to memory loss, poor nerve repair, and even cell death. In the blood system, it causes imbalanced blood cell production and contributes to bone marrow diseases, including some types of leukemia.
Hope for Future Treatments
While RUNX1 has long been considered “undruggable,” scientists are now developing ways to block or silence it. These include small molecules, RNA-based therapies, and new drug delivery methods. Some early-stage clinical trials are even exploring RUNX1-targeted treatments in patients with blood disorders. RUNX1 is also being studied as a marker to predict disease severity and treatment outcomes.
Why This Discovery Matters
The study shows that RUNX1 is more than just a background player in aging—it is a central hub linking stress, inflammation, and organ damage. By targeting RUNX1, future treatments could slow down aging, restore tissue function, and even prevent chronic diseases linked to inflammation.
The conclusions of this study highlight that targeting RUNX1 could one day break the vicious cycle of age-related inflammation, offering new hope for managing multiple chronic diseases. Its role as both a marker and driver of tissue damage makes it a valuable
target for future therapies in elderly populations or those with inflammation-related conditions.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Biomedicines
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/12/2999
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Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/anti-aging
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/immunology
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