Blood vessels and stromal cells in the bone marrow create an ideal environment for hematopoietic stem cells to continuously produce all blood cells. During aging, these critical niche components deteriorate and the bone marrow produces fewer healthy blood cells, leading to age-related inflammation and disease.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster, Germany, discovered that the skull bone marrow is a surprising exception to bone marrow aging and actually increases blood production throughout life. Specialized blood vessels continue to grow and drive skull bone marrow expansion, making this a unique case of lifelong vascular growth in the aging body.