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Lipid metabolism plays a crucial role in maintaining brain homeostasis, affecting energy balance, membrane structure, and signaling pathways essential for neuronal and glial health. Disruption of lipid pathways is linked to neuroinflammation and the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, as well as aging. Changes in cholesterol trafficking, sphingolipid and ceramide metabolism, and phospholipid remodeling can compromise synaptic membrane integrity and...

Global population aging intensifies "inflammaging," a bidirectional link between chronic inflammation and aging-related pathology. Among them, S100A8/A9 forms a positive feedback loop of "aging-inflammation". Here, we systematically review the structure and function of S100A8/A9, including extracellularly promoting leukocyte adhesion and myeloid-derived suppressor cell aggregation, and intracellularly regulating NOD-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome, arachidonic acid metabolism, autophagy,...

Telomere length is a biomarker of aging and disease risk. Most human studies have assessed average telomere length, limiting our understanding of variability across chromosome arms. Using long-read sequencing data from >2500 All of Us participants, we estimate chromosome-specific telomere lengths and characterize sources of biological and technical variation. Telomere length varies by chromosome arm, accounting for 9.1% of total variance. Substantial variance (8.9%) in chromosome-specific...

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a microvascular and retinal neurologic disorder that occurs in patients with long-term diabetes. Umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cell (UCB-MSC) therapy has emerged as a promising treatment because of its regenerative potential; however, its effectiveness is limited under hyperglycemic conditions, which results in the overproduction of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS), leading to cellular senescence. In this study, we examined the potential...

APOE4 is the leading genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, and chronic stress is a leading environmental risk factor. Studies suggest that APOE4 confers vulnerability to the behavioral and neuropathological effects of chronic stress, representing a potential mechanism by which this genetic variant accelerates Alzheimer's onset and progression. Whether and how APOE4-mediated stress vulnerability manifests in neurons of the hippocampus, a brain region particularly susceptible to stress and...

As the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, POLR2A plays an irreplaceable role in gene expression, with the regulation of its own expression and physiological function having attracted widespread attention. Here we report POLR2A as a critical guardian against cellular senescence. A significant decline in POLR2A expression was observed in senescent cells and certain tissues of aging mice. Whereas its depletion dramatically induced cellular senescence, conversely, activating endogenous POLR2A...

Aging accelerates central nervous system remyelination failure and neurodegeneration. Microglia promote remyelination by phagocytosing myelin debris, but this function is impaired by aging-related CD22 upregulation. However, the molecular mechanisms counteracting premature aging-related microglial dysfunction and remyelination impairment remain unclear. Here, we report that Aurka-Bhlhe41 axis prevents premature aging-like microglial dysfunction and promotes remyelination by restraining...

Although epigenetic changes during ageing are well documented, we lack an integrated framework to systematically explain their mechanistic relationships. In this Review, we present a systems-level framework that demonstrates how epigenetic regulation controls ageing. We discuss four interdependent processes through which epigenetic fidelity - the capacity of chromatin regulatory systems to maintain precise gene expression states - progressively fails: deterioration of nuclear architecture,...

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Scientists spot first example of vertebrate drinking with suction from the tongue alone

New way to analyze frozen tissue slices could reveal bodywide effects of drugs, diseases

The planet’s lightning storms can unleash the force of multiple nuclear weapons every minute

The G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) exerts essential functions in cell growth and survival. Searching for a connection between GRK2 and the neurodegenerative Alzheimer disease (AD), we find increased aggregated serine-670-phosphorylated GRK2 (phospho-S670-GRK2) in brains of AD mice and patients with dementia likely due to AD. Harmful phospho-S670-GRK2 aggregation is induced by two hallmark proteins of AD: beta-amyloid and the neurofibrillary-tangle-inducing, TAU-P301L. Aggregated...

Sex and apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE4) interact to alter the risk for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Herein, we show sex-specific differences in immune activation and lymphatic function in the meningeal dura of humanized female and male mice expressing two alleles of APOE4 (E4/E4), when compared with their respective sex-matched E3/E3 controls. We also describe distinct effects of APOE4 on brain lipid composition and inflammation in females and males that were partially...

Genetic variants affecting microglia can cause early-onset neurodegeneration or elevate Alzheimer's disease risk. To nominate regulators of relevant signaling pathways, we developed a genome-wide CRISPR screen in primary macrophages focused on survival. We identified Ptpn6, which encodes the inhibitory phosphatase SHP-1, as a crucial regulator for macrophage survival under reduced CSF1R signaling conditions in vitro. Deletion of Ptpn6 from adult microglia in vivo enhanced survival and decreased...

The G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) exerts essential functions in cell growth and survival. Searching for a connection between GRK2 and the neurodegenerative Alzheimer disease (AD), we find increased aggregated serine-670-phosphorylated GRK2 (phospho-S670-GRK2) in brains of AD mice and patients with dementia likely due to AD. Harmful phospho-S670-GRK2 aggregation is induced by two hallmark proteins of AD: beta-amyloid and the neurofibrillary-tangle-inducing, TAU-P301L. Aggregated...

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As global life expectancy rises, understanding predictors of survival in extreme old age is crucial. Body mass index (BMI) is a widely used proxy for adiposity and nutritional status. In adults, a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m² is considered healthy and associated with better life expectancy; yet in nonagenarians and centenarians it remains unclear whether this BMI range is ideal due to age-related physiological changes. We examined BMI and mortality associations in 780 adults aged ≥90 years...

MicroRNA-128-3p (miR-128-3p) has emerged as a crucial regulator of the aging process and age-associated disorders. Recent research highlights the vital role of miR-128-3p in osteoclast (OC) differentiation and the progression of osteoporosis following ovariectomy. Nonetheless, the mechanism by which miR-128-3p influences osteoblast (OB)-mediated bone formation and contributes to bone loss associated with aging is poorly understood. The present investigation began with an analysis of human bone...