In many age-related diseases, affecting various organs such as the lungs, kidneys, liver, brain, and cardiovascular system, necrosis, or unscheduled cell death, drives disease progression.
A process called necrosis, a form of cell death, may represent one of the most promising ways to change the course of human aging, how to treat diseases, and even space travel.
A study by researchers at University College London (UK), published in Nature Oncogene, challenges prevailing views and brings together evidence from cancer biology, regenerative medicine, kidney disease, and spatial health to argue that necrosis is not simply an endpoint, but a key factor in aging that presents an opportunity for intervention.
This international team of scientists and medical professionals explores the potential of necrosis (when cells die unexpectedly as a result of infection, injury, or disease) to reshape our understanding and treatment of age-related diseases.
” No one likes to talk about death, not even cell death, which is perhaps why the physiology of death is so poorly understood. And, in a way, necrosis is death. If enough cells die, tissues die, and we die. The question is what would happen if we could stop necrosis ,” says Keith Siew, author of the study.
Necrosis remains one of the last frontiers of medicine, a connecting thread between aging, disease, space biology, and scientific progress itself, explains Carina Kern, lead author of the study and CEO of LinkGevity.
Cells are the fundamental building blocks of life and can die in a variety of ways. Programmed forms of cell death are beneficial and carefully orchestrated processes that allow our tissues to regenerate and function properly throughout life.
Necrosis
But “unscheduled” cell death, or necrosis, is an uncontrolled and catastrophic process that leads to tissue degeneration and biological deterioration.
At the heart of the necrotic process is calcium, a vital resource that effectively controls the cell by determining which functions are activated or deactivated . Calcium ions are normally maintained at a level between 10,000 and 100,000 times higher outside the cell than inside it.
When this precise balance fails, calcium floods the cell like a short circuit, plunging it into chaos. Unlike programmed death, where cells disintegrate in an orderly fashion, necrosis causes cell rupture, releasing toxic molecules into the surrounding tissues.
This triggers a chain reaction that causes widespread inflammation and impairs tissue repair , creating a snowball effect that ultimately leads to frailty and the onset of age-related chronic diseases such as kidney disease, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s.
“When cells die, it’s not always a peaceful process for neighboring cells,” Siew says.
“Necrosis has been hidden in plain sight,” Kern explains. “As the final stage of cell death, it has been largely overlooked. But growing evidence shows that it is much more than an outcome. It is a central mechanism through which systemic degeneration not only arises but also propagates. This makes it a critical point of convergence in many diseases . If we can address necrosis, we could discover entirely new ways to treat conditions ranging from kidney failure to heart disease, neurodegeneration, and even aging itself.”
It’s important to note that necrosis can have its most devastating and underestimated impact on the kidneys. Necrosis induces kidney disease, which can lead to kidney failure requiring transplantation or dialysis. By age 75, nearly half of all people develop some degree of kidney disease as part of the natural aging process.
“In the case of kidney disease, there is no single underlying cause of kidney failure,” Siew says. “It could be due to lack of oxygen, inflammation, oxidative stress, toxin buildup, etc. All of these stressors eventually cause necrosis, which starts a positive feedback loop that spirals out of control and leads to kidney failure. We can’t stop all of these stressors, but if we could intervene at the point of necrosis, we would achieve the same result.”
Space flights
Another area where disrupting necrosis could have a major impact is spaceflight, where astronauts often experience accelerated aging and kidney decline due to the effects of low gravity and exposure to cosmic radiation . A 2024 study, in which Siew participated, showed that the human kidney could be the main obstacle to long-duration space missions.
The authors say that finding solutions to this accelerated aging and kidney disease may be the final frontier for human exploration of deep space.
For Damian Bailey, author of the article from the University of South Wales and chair of the European Space Agency (ESA) Life Sciences Working Group , “ tackling necrosis offers the potential not only to transform longevity on Earth, but also to expand the frontiers of space exploration. In space, the same factors that cause aging on Earth are exacerbated by cosmic radiation and microgravity, dramatically accelerating degeneration.”
” In many age-related diseases, affecting diverse organs such as the lungs, kidneys, liver, brain, and cardiovascular system, constant cascades of necrosis drive disease progression. This is often accompanied by impaired wound healing, leading to fibrosis, inflammation, and cellular damage. Each cascade triggers and amplifies the next ,” says Kern.
” If we could prevent necrosis, even temporarily, we would be stopping these destructive cycles at their source, allowing normal physiological processes and cell division to resume, and potentially even enabling regeneration.”
Author: Rafel Ibarra
Date: 05/29/2025 at 2:32 p.m.
Source: ABC.ES
Note: The Nutrigenomics Institute is not responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.
PHOTO FROM PIXABAY.
