V. Dontsov - General system theory of aging. Special role of the immune system

The firststage is determinism, which has received its maximum expression, apparently, in Laplace. According to his extreme ideas, know-ledge of the initial conditions uniquely determines everything that follows: knowledge of the initial coordinates and momentum of all particles at the Beginning of the World uniquely determines its picture to the present moment and the future of the World. The main disadvantage of this methodical approach is the mechanism: everything is predetermined by initial conditions, there is no freedom, in fact, there is no place for life, feeling, intelligence, free will and the whole diversity of the real World.

The subsequent development of science has changed this view of the opposite. The stochasticvision of the World, most pronounced in probability theory and quantum mechanics, was based on the recognition of a physical law stating that it is impossible to simultaneously and accurately determine the coordinate and momentum – the uncertainty principle in quantum physics. However, the proliferation of global stochasticity as a method from the micro level to the level of complex objects led to another extreme – the general unpredictability of phenomena, which also does not correspond to the state of things.

The development of a systems approachbrought science out of a methodological crisis, while not discarding what has been achieved. Already one enumeration of its characteristic features, shown below, shows the enormous potential possibilities of a systematic approach – a new, whole world view (Checkland, 1986; Wolfram, 2002, etc.).

Already a short review of the system analysis requirements for the aging phenomenon makes it possible to see a number of crucially important points for analyzing the problem.

The principle of unity of the wholerequires that a certain integral self-sufficient system be put in the basis of consideration. This means that the full consideration of aging is possible only for the level of the whole organism. Indeed, at the level of populations, the very concept of aging is blurred, as at the level of cells and molecules, when you can get a variety of cultural phenomena and interpret them in an arbitrary way. The importance of the principle of integrity, unity of the organism as a system is also clearly seen in the first experience of heart transplantation: in a couple of years the transplanted young heart was not much different from the old one: aging was directed by the whole organism, and the young part could not preserve its youth in the old organism. The same applies to the transfer of young stem cells to the old organism and vice versa: old cells retain their potencies and can manifest them in a young organism, while young cells reduce their abilities in the old organism (Albright., Makinodan,1976; Gorskaya et al., 2011) – the determining role of the microenvironment and external influences on the state of cells.

Considering the reality of universal interrelationshipsis all the more important since aging is a long-lasting process. At the same time, small changes and “side” for the main consideration of the reaction are decisive. So, besides the reactions directed by enzymes studied in biochemistry, all possible physicochemical processes in biological systems actually take place, which forms the basis of the aging processes in the form of “contamination” with secondary metabolites. Similarly, the universality of interrelations means a really huge number of influences on a real-life system and determines its fundamental vulnerability: the mortality of a particular system cannot be zero and even an “eternally young” organism will not be immortal – the stochastic mechanism of mortality. The same, when applied to specific internal structures, reveals the stochastic mechanism of system aging.

The idea that parts of a whole are not separate entities, but units of division of a fundamentally different type (entity-in-relationship) allows us to apply analysis methods at the abstract level and consider the real structure by considering the essential relationships of structural parts, which also applies to weakly structured systems (for example, metabolism for living organisms).

The most important position on the transition from the analysis of equilibrium states to the analysis of nonequilibrium, irreversible states(super) complex systems allows us to understand the fundamental unidirectionality of the aging phenomenon, to look for the presence of fundamentally irreducible phenomena that determine movement in one direction only.

The position of the system analysis that there is no entity, meaning and structure of an object outside of evolution, requires to consider the entire period of ontogenesis as a single whole, and not aging as a process that is separated from the development of the whole organism, needs to look for an association of aging with processes of growth and development of the body. In addition, the evolution of the living provides a vivid example of the evolution of the forms of aging and the possibilities of influencing it, as well as the dependence of such forms and influences on the specific structure of the living system of one or another level of complexity.

The principle of the consideration hierarchyactually reflects the different level of the real structure of the object, the presence of separate organs and systems with a special structure and function, which determines its particular mechanisms of aging for molecules, cells, organs, systems of the body and the whole organism with its common regulatory systems.

Finally, it is important to understand the essence of the phenomenon, which is considered as an ideal law that determines the appearance of the phenomenon, its functioning and evolution in the hierarchy of interrelationships of the whole.

This idea makes it possible to move away from considering the many specific mechanisms of aging to its cause, as an ideal principleand the essence of aging, and also to understand how the general principle is implemented by specific mechanisms. This is one of the stumbling blocks in modern gerontology, in which many open mechanisms of aging are given for a reason, which has already spawned hundreds of “theories” of aging.

The sticking point remains the question of the cause and nature of the phenomenon of aging, also solved by system analysis.

When one speaks of a single natural theory of aging, it is quite clear that it must answer a number of central questions:

– the time of appearance of aging in evolution;

– whether aging is a general law of nature or a private mechanism for the existence of individual forms of the living;

– what are the essence and the fundamental, common cause of aging;

– what are the general laws and particular types and mechanisms of the manifestation of aging;

– what are the fundamental features of human aging;

– what are the general perspectives and ways to overcome aging as a natural phenomenon;

– what are the specific approaches to the effects on the main types and mechanisms of aging;

– the importance of aging in general, the general way to overcome it, and the peculiarities of this task in humans.

One of the central issues in the consideration of aging as a global phenomenon is the question of the primary cause and the deep, fundamental nature of aging.