Transplanted Hearts Assimilate Biological Age of Recipients, Potentially Expanding Organ Donor Pool
A new preprint study led by molecular biologist Jesse Poganik of Harvard Medical School suggests that the biological age of a transplanted heart is strongly influenced by its new host body. The research, which involved both mouse experiments and the analysis of archived human heart tissue, found that older hearts transplanted into younger recipients showed signs of biological rejuvenation, while younger hearts placed in older bodies exhibited accelerated aging. The study utilized epigenetic clocks, which measure DNA methylation patterns, to estimate biological age. In mouse experiments, donor hearts began to assimilate the biological age of their new body within four to six months. Intriguingly, the recipient's original heart, liver, and blood were largely unaffected by the transplanted heart's age. Similar findings were observed in a small sample of 11 human heart transplant recipients, where the biological ages of the transplanted hearts were more closely associated with the recipients' ages than the don...
