Animal study · Aging · 29 Oct 2026
An astrocyte factor, FGF13, tracked with aging changes beyond the brain in mice
Source: Lifespan.io
What the research found
A 29 October 2026 write-up by Josh Conway describes an Aging Cell paper (DOI 10.1111/acel.70784). FGF13 fell with age in mouse astrocytes, and also in oligodendrocytes and microglia, but not in neurons. The hippocampus declined smoothly. The cortex rose at 6 months and then fell. Macaque tissue looked similar, with the strongest change in astrocytes. Removing the factor from astrocytes of aging mice worsened a water-maze memory test against aged controls, and it raised senescence in heart, skin, liver, spleen, and kidney plus circulating inflammatory cytokines, even though the change was aimed at the brain. Extra FGF13 in older mice left water-maze performance similar to young mice. Elevated-plus and open-field scores beat untreated older mice but did not fully match young mice. Blood IFN-gamma and IL-6 fell substantially. Senescence markers fell in skin, liver, spleen, and kidney, and not in the heart. Age-related weight gain was lower as well. The stated mechanism is that FGF13 binds Phafin2 and increases autophagy, read out with P62, LC3, and autophagosomes. The sex of the mice was not stated. This is not something a person can go and obtain. Not medical advice.
Evidence level: Animal study. Results in animals or cells often don't carry over to people.
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