Immune Alarm Drives Rapid Aging: Blocking cGAS Reverses Tissue Damage
Researchers have linked an overactive immune sensor called cGAS to tissue degeneration in severe DNA repair disorders (like Ataxia-Telangiectasia and Bloom syndrome). Damaged DNA in cells can trigger cGAS, causing chronic inflammation that drives decline; reducing cGAS activity in a rapid-aging vertebrate model improved neuroinflammation, tissue function, and reproductive capacity. The work suggests aging-related decline may hinge as much on the body's inflammatory response as on unrepaired DNA damage, offering a potential new therapeutic angle with caution to preserve antiviral defense.