Medin is the most common amyloid known in humans, as it can be found in blood vessels of the upper body in virtually everybody over 50 years of age. However, it remains unknown whether deposition of Medin plays a causal role in age-related vascular dysfunction. We now report that aggregates of Medin also develop in the aorta and brain vasculature of wild-type mice in an age-dependent manner. Strikingly, genetic deficiency of the Medin precursor protein, MFG-E8, eliminates not only vascular aggregates but also prevents age-associated decline of cerebrovascular function in mice. Given the prevalence of Medin aggregates in the general population and its role in vascular dysfunction with aging, targeting Medin may become a novel approach to sustain healthy aging.

麦丁是人类已知的最常见的淀粉样蛋白，因为它几乎可以在50岁以上的每个人的上身血管中发现。然而，尚不清楚麦丁的沉积是否在与年龄有关的血管功能障碍中起因果作用。我们现在报道，Medin的聚集体还以年龄依赖的方式在野生型小鼠的主动脉和脑血管中发育。令人惊讶的是，Medin前体蛋白MFG-E8的遗传缺陷不仅消除了血管聚集，而且还防止了小鼠中与年龄相关的脑血管功能下降。鉴于普通人群中Medin聚集体的流行及其在衰老中血管功能障碍中的作用，靶向Medin可能成为维持健康衰老的新方法。