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Breaking bad blood: β2-microglobulin as a pro-aging factor in blood

Aging is a major risk factor for cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases. A new study identified β2-microglobulin as a blood-borne factor that detrimentally influences the brain during the aging process.

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Figure 1: The influence of the blood-borne factor B2M on aging and cognition.

Marina Corral Spence/Nature Publishing Group

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Correspondence to Anthony J Filiano or Jonathan Kipnis.

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Filiano, A., Kipnis, J. Breaking bad blood: β2-microglobulin as a pro-aging factor in blood. Nat Med 21, 844–845 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.3926

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