Aging & Longevity

Ovarian aging is a critical yet understudied driver of systemic aging in female bodies, with profound implications for female health and longevity. Despite its significance, we still know little about ovarian aging and its systemic effects on aging trajectories. With new efforts over the past few years, interest in the field has been growing and there is momentum to address these questions. This review highlights the importance of leveraging modern tools and approaches to better understand...

Memory T cells are a highly heterogeneous collection of antigen-experienced cells that undergo dynamic adaptations upon antigen re-encounter and environmental signals. This heterogeneity hinders studies on memory T cell durability and age-related dysfunction. Using chronic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and barcode-enabled antigen tracing, we assess the influence of age on memory states at the level of single antigen-specific CD8^(+) T cells. In young adults (<40 years), EBV-specific CD8^(+)...

Connections between the nervous and immune systems are increasingly recognized as central to brain-body physiology. In this Review, we examine how these systems collaborate to detect and respond to both internal and external stimuli - such as psychological stress, circadian cues, infection, and tissue injury. Rather than operating in isolation, the nervous and immune systems form an integrated network that is more than the sum of its parts. They share a common architecture and vocabulary,...

DNA is a promising medium for digital data storage due to its exceptional data density and longevity. Practical DNA-based storage systems require selective data retrieval to minimize decoding time and costs. In this work, we introduce CRISPR-Cas9 as a user-friendly tool for multiplexed, low-latency molecular data extraction. We first present a one-pot, multiplexed random access method in which specific data files are selectively cleaved using a CRISPR-Cas9 addressing system and then sequenced...

Cellular senescence represents a permanent state of cell cycle arrest, also observed in neurodegenerative disorders. As p300 has been identified as an epigenetic driver of replicative senescence, we aimed to investigate whether in vitro p300 inhibition could rescue the stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) phenotype. We exploited 2D and 3D (brain organoids) in vitro models of SIPS using two different stressor agents. In addition, we combined the treatment with a p300 inhibitor and validated...

Telomerase ribonucleoprotein (RNP) synthesizes telomeric repeats at chromosome ends using a telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and a telomerase RNA (hTR in humans). Previous structural work showed that human telomerase is typically monomeric, containing a single copy of TERT and hTR. Evidence for dimeric complexes exists, although the composition, high-resolution structure, and function remain elusive. Here, we report the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of a human telomerase...

Telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA), transcribed from subtelomeric regions toward telomeric ends, poses challenges in deciphering its complete sequences. Utilizing TERRA-capture RNA-seq and Oxford Nanopore direct RNA sequencing to acquire full-length TERRA, we annotate TERRA transcription regions in the human T2T-CHM13 reference genome. TERRA transcripts encompass hundreds to over a thousand nucleotides of telomeric repeats, predominantly originating from 61-29-37 bp repeat promoters...

Aging in the context of obesity exacerbates the risk of morbidity and mortality related to cardiovascular disease. However, the maladaptive responses in the heart that arise from prolonged obesity and the specific influence of biological age remain somewhat elusive. This study investigated the effects of diet-induced obesity (DIO) and aging on physical performance and cardiovascular function in mice. 22- and 76-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were randomized to 8 weeks of chow or high-fat diet. Body...

Chronic inflammatory pathway activation increases with age and is epidemiologically linked to multiple aging-related pathophysiological processes, phenotypes such as physical frailty and sarcopenia and early healthspan declines in aging organisms. Despite this, molecular mechanisms that directly connect chronic inflammation to these conditions remain poorly characterized. We hypothesize that chronic inflammation contributes to the development of age-related phenotypes by increasing the...

Accumulation of cytosolic DNA has emerged as a hallmark of aging, inducing sterile inflammation. Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) protein translates the sensing of cytosolic DNA by cyclic-GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) into an inflammatory response. However, the molecular mechanisms whereby cytosolic DNA-induced cGAS-STING pathway leads to aging remain poorly understood. We show that STING does not follow the canonical pathway of activation in human fibroblasts passaged (aging) in culture,...

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of cognitive impairment in the population is growing; however, there is substantial heterogeneity in the rate of decline across different cognitive domains. Harmonized factor scores measuring memory, executive function, and language domains have been created in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS).

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It is well-known that physical activity exerts health benefits, yet the potential impacts of early-life regular exercise on later-life health and lifespan remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that 3 months of early-life exercise in mice results in lasting health benefits, extending healthspan, but not lifespan. C57BL/6J mice underwent swimming exercise from 1 to 4 months of age, followed by detraining for the remainder of their lives. While early-life exercise did not extend the...

Aging is the primary risk factor for many cancer types, including lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). To understand how aging-related alterations in the regulation of key cellular processes might affect LUAD risk and survival, we built individual-specific gene regulatory networks integrating gene expression, transcription factor protein-protein interaction, and sequence motif data, using PANDA/LIONESS algorithms, for non-cancerous lung samples from GTEx project and LUAD samples from TCGA. In healthy...

Weight loss significantly improves metabolic and cardiovascular health in people with obesity^(1-3). The remodelling of adipose tissue (AT) is central to these varied and important clinical effects⁴. However, surprisingly little is known about the underlying mechanisms, presenting a barrier to treatment advances. Here we report a spatially resolved single-nucleus atlas (comprising 171,247 cells from 70 people) investigating the cell types, molecular events and regulatory factors that reshape...

Decreased brain levels of coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)), an endogenously synthesized lipophilic antioxidant^(1,2), underpin encephalopathy in primary CoQ(10) deficiencies^(3,4) and are associated with common neurodegenerative diseases and the ageing process^(5,6). CoQ(10) supplementation does not increase CoQ(10) pools in the brain or in other tissues. The recent discovery of the mammalian CoQ(10) headgroup synthesis pathway, in which 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase-like protein (HPDL) makes...

Plasma proteins derived from specific organs can estimate organ age and mortality, but their sensitivity to environmental factors and their robustness in forecasting onset of organ diseases and mortality remain unclear. To address this gap, we estimate the biological age of 11 organs using plasma proteomics data (2,916 proteins) from 44,498 individuals in the UK Biobank. Organ age estimates were sensitive to lifestyle factors and medications and were associated with future onset (within 17...

Aging is an inherent phenomenon that is highly important in the pathological development of numerous diseases. Aging is a multidimensional phenomenon characterized by the progressive impairment of various cellular structures and organelle functions. The basis of human organ senescence is cellular senescence. Currently, with the increase in human life expectancy and the increasing proportion of the elderly population, the economic burden of diseases related to aging is becoming increasingly heavy...

Neuromuscular diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and sarcopenia cause muscle atrophy, which preferentially affects fast-twitch glycolytic myofibers. The mechanisms underlying the susceptibility of fast myofibers to disease remain unclear. To investigate this, we analyzed the transcriptional profiles of myonuclei from denervated muscle fibers. We found that the fast muscle gene program and the transcription factor Maf were repressed upon denervation. Overexpression of Maf in mice...

Aging leads to a gradual decline in muscle function, yet the mechanisms by which different skeletal muscles respond to aging remain unclear. Here, we constructed transcriptional maps of 11 skeletal muscles with extensive transcriptional diversity from young and old mice. Age-related changes in gene expression displayed distinct tissue-specific patterns, involving muscle diseases and metabolic processes. Notably, the mitochondrial-enriched soleus muscle exhibited superior resistance to aging...