Memory problems, thinning skin, and declining bone mass may seem like separate consequences of growing older. Yet experiments in mice suggest that changes in a protein deep inside the brain can influence all three. Restoring that protein, called Menin, improved several signs of aging, while a separate treatment with the amino acid D-serine improved cognition.
The findings came from a study published on March 16, 2023, in the open access journal PLOS Biology, led by Lige Leng of Xiamen University in Xiamen, China, and colleagues. The work identified a possible connection between brain inflammation, metabolism, and aging throughout the body. Research published since then has added to that picture, while also showing why the supplement findings require careful interpretation.
How a Brain Protein Could Influence Aging The researchers focused on the hypothalamus, a small brain region that helps coordinate metabolism and other essential functions. It also appears to influence how the body ages. As inflammatory signaling increases in this region, it can contribute to changes both within the brain and in tissues elsewhere in the body.
Before the 2023 study, Leng and colleagues had found that Menin helps restrain inflammation in the hypothalamus. That raised an important question: Could losing some of this protection help set age-related decline in motion? The team found that Menin levels fell with age in certain neurons within the ventromedial hypothalamus, an area involved in regulating metabolism.
The same decline was not seen in astrocytes and microglia, two types of cells that support and protect the brain. This suggested that the change was specific to particular cells rather than a uniform loss across the region. To investigate whether Menin loss could actually contribute to aging, rather than simply accompany it, the researchers created conditional knockout mice.
These animals were genetically engineered so that Menin could be selectively removed. Reducing Menin in younger mice increased hypothalamic inflammation and brought on several aging-related traits, including lower bone mass, thinner skin, cognitive decline, and a modestly shorter lifespan. Menin loss also disrupted a chemical pathway important for communication between brain cells.
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