A recent animal study from researchers in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City investigates the role of DNA damage in blood vessels and the aging cardiovascular system. They found that increased exercise is linked to reduced DNA damage in the cells that line blood vessels. This may help explain how exercise, even later in life, can reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis. Led by Jisok Lim, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Utah, the researchers will present their findings at the American Physiology Summit — the annual meeting of the American Physiological Society — in Long Beach, CA. The conference runs between April 4–7, 2024. How does exercise protect vascular health as we age? Our risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular problems increases as we age. Commonly, this is due to atherosclerosis — a build-up of fatty substances on the lining of blood vessels.As these plaques grow, they narrow the vessels, increasing the risk of cardiovascular events like heart attacks or strokes. Thankfully, exercise can significantly reduce the risk of atherosclerosis. Even exercise during older age can slow plaque buildup and improve cardiovascular outcomes. However, understanding precisely how exercise benefits cardiovascular health has proven more challenging. The new study focuses on one of the likely mechanisms: DNA damage. DNA damage and telomeres: Key players in aging As we age, there is a slow loss of function across many aspects of our physiology. Part of this decline is due to damaged DNA. DNA damage occurs for many reasons, and our DNA repair mechanismsTrusted Source become more prone to errors later in life. Experts consider DNA damage central to the aging processTrusted Source, and it appears to play an important part in the declining health of our blood vessels with age. TelomeresTrusted Source are DNA “caps” on the ends of chromosomes — they protect them from becoming tangled or frayed. For this reason, telomere length is an indicator of biological age, with shorter lengths associated with many age-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Telomeres in cells that line blood vessels are particularly sensitive to damage by a force called “shear stress.” “The higher the blood velocity and the smaller the arterial diameter, the higher the shear stress,” explained Jan Malik, MuDr, a professor at General University Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic.
