A team led by Prof. Alon Monsonego of Ben-Gurion University says it has identified a type of immune cell that may play a key role in healthy aging—and potentially help extend the human “health span.”
The research, published in Nature Aging, focuses on cytotoxic T helper cells, a specialized form of white blood cell. These cells appear in high numbers in super-centenarians, people who live past 100 with unusually strong health. Monsonego’s team discovered that these cells help clear senescent cells, aging cells that no longer divide and contribute to inflammation and age-related diseases.
In lab experiments, mice engineered without these T helper cells lived shorter lives, while those with them showed better tissue regeneration and lower inflammation. Monsonego said the discovery initially surprised him: “I thought anything that appears late in life means something is going wrong.”
The findings shift scientific attention toward health span, the years one lives in good health, rather than lifespan alone. Age-related conditions like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease begin much earlier than people expect, Monsonego noted—often in one’s 40s.
Researchers are now studying immune profiles of super-centenarians in global Blue Zones to understand how lifestyle and immunity interact. The ultimate goal, Monsonego says, is to develop diagnostic tools to track these T helper cells and eventually design therapies that enhance them.
Independent scientists say the research could reshape how aging is understood. “Aging may be more controllable than we thought,” said Prof. Asya Rolls of Tel Aviv University.
