Aging & Longevity

Aging of the blood system impacts systemic health and can be traced to hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Despite multiple reports on human HSC aging, a unified map detailing their molecular age-related changes is lacking. We developed a consensus map of gene expression in HSCs by integrating seven single-cell datasets. This map reveals previously unappreciated heterogeneity within the HSC population. It also links inflammatory pathway activation (TNF/NFκB, AP-1) and quiescence within a single...

Infection triggers one of the most dramatic systemic responses in the body, and the coordinated activation and function of immune cells requires a dynamic regulation of transcriptomes and proteomes. This is achieved by RNA-binding proteins, which, together with RNA, form ribonucleoproteins. These proteins expand the information content of the genome and determine the lifespan, localization and function of RNA. Moreover, they control when, where and how much protein is produced. They can also...

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Aging and DNA damage increase the risk of chronic inflammation and autoimmunity, yet the molecular underpinnings remain unclear. In this study, we uncover a DNA damage-driven mechanism in macrophages that triggers immune autoreactivity. Here, using Er1^(Lyz2/)^(-) mice with a macrophage-specific DNA repair defect in ERCC1-XPF, we demonstrate that monocyte-derived macrophages accumulate DNA damage, activate the immune system, drive polyclonal T cell responses and generate antinuclear...

CONCLUSION: Community activation is a complex, multidisciplinary process that requires inclusive collaboration and local ownership. The Community Activation Compass offers a promising framework to guide such efforts, but further implementation and evaluation are needed to assess its impact on ageing in place.

The aging of the hematopoietic system is central to physiological aging, with profound consequences for immune competence, tissue regeneration, and systemic health. Age-related changes manifest as altered blood cell composition, functional decline in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), and deterioration of the bone marrow niche. Beyond hematologic dysfunction, hematopoietic aging acts as a systemic amplifier of age-related diseases through clonal hematopoiesis and inflammatory remodeling. This...

Aging populations require scalable strategies to delay or prevent dementia. Beyond the prevention of neurological injury associated with seasonal influenza, vaccination may help mitigate vascular and neuroinflammatory injury underlying cognitive impairment. Influenza infection can cause a marked short‑term increase in myocardial infarction risk, and acute infections have also been associated with transient increases in stroke risk. Experimental models show prolonged microglial activation and...

Replicative senescence frequently occurs in in vitro cell cultures and certain in vivo pathological conditions, characterized by multiple phenotypes, including cell cycle arrest. Previous studies suggested that the main mechanism underlying replicative senescence is that under continuous subculture, cells sense DNA damage during G1, which triggers G1/S arrest and the subsequent geroconversion. However, this explanation does not account for phenomena such as how DNA damage caused by replication...

CONCLUSION: In summary, the GID score offers a practical and efficient method for predicting 30-day mortality and informing disposition decisions for older ED patients with influenza.

Dysregulation in lipid metabolism is increasingly recognized as a key contributor to age-related diseases, including neurodegeneration and cerebrovascular dysfunction. While prior studies have largely focused on glial cells, the impact of lipid dysregulation on brain endothelial aging remains poorly understood. In this study, we conducted a secondary analysis of single-cell transcriptomic data from young and aged mouse brains, with a specific focus on endothelial cells (ECs). Our analyses...

Metacontrol, the ability to adapt cognitive control to task demands, declines with age and is thought to be reflected in aperiodic and periodic neural dynamics. Given that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (atDCS) can modulate cortical excitability via membrane potential shifts, we tested whether atDCS alters the neurophysiological signatures of metacontrol in younger and older adults. In a mixed design, younger and older participants performed a Go/Nogo task under both atDCS and...

Cigarette smoking induces epigenetic changes that can cause degenerative heterogeneity with aging and disease. In disease such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading worldwide cause of blindness among the elderly, retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell heterogeneity is a key change. Since smoking is a powerful risk factor for AMD, we hypothesized that smoke induces epigenetic-mediated degenerative RPE heterogeneity. We administered cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) to young and...

p62/SQSTM1 generates liquid-liquid phase-separated condensates that participate in diverse processes, including protein quality control (PQC) and autophagy. Nuclear p62 condensates were shown to act as ubiquitin- and proteasome-mediated degradation hubs, whereas the involvement of cytoplasmic condensates in this pathway has remained unclear. Here, we show that cytoplasmic p62 condensates serve as a hub for proteasomal degradation that displays distinct substrate preferences compared with nuclear...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is projected to become the fifth leading cause of mortality by 2040. Tubular senescence drives kidney fibrosis, but current treatments do not target senescent cells. Here, we identify nicotinamide-N-methyltransferase (NNMT) as a critical mediator of tubular senescence and kidney fibrosis. Human CKD microarrays link NNMT to senescence and fibrosis transcriptomic signatures, and diabetic kidney disease (DKD) biopsies show NNMT protein associating with p21, fibrosis,...

CONCLUSIONS: Higher acceptance was found for smart wearable devices for elder care purposes compared to the sensors and cameras at home. Presence of actual need such as risk of falling, practical care situations, as well as an overall emphasis on ensuring the safety of older persons, were observed to positively impact the acceptance of technologies. Our findings also impart significance of the role of caregiving stress as a driver to incorporating technical tools in elder care. Further research...

Aging is associated with alterations in endogenous tryptophan (TRP) metabolism that contributes to musculoskeletal decline. In this study, we investigated the effects of the microbiota-derived TRP metabolite, indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), on musculoskeletal health in aged mice and lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster. Aged C57BL/6 mice received IPA (20 mg/kg, subcutaneous, three times per week for 12 weeks), while Drosophila were maintained on food supplemented with IPA (100 µM) throughout their...

Aging around the world is accelerating. With that comes the intersection of geriatric multimorbidity and polypharmacy, creating a large uncertainty about the pharmacological efficacy and therapeutic consequences of medications used when multiple concurrent health issues exist. The gut microbiota coordinates the way drugs work through multiple pathways: through the way drugs are metabolised, the way they maintain immune homeostasis, and the way they regulate the epithelial barrier. For these...

Biomolecular condensates are essential for cellular organization, yet their formation dynamics and molecular content exchange properties remain poorly understood. Here we show that flow cytometry provides a high-throughput, solution-based platform for analyzing condensate behavior at the single-droplet level. Using self-interacting NPM1 condensates as a model, we demonstrate that this approach quantifies phase behavior across protein and salt conditions, measures the partitioning of diverse...

Battery monitoring requires high accuracy and robustness throughout the entire lifespan to ensure safe and optimal operations. Here we introduce mechanistic leading residual learners to enhance the monitoring of battery charge and health states, as well as guide safety warnings, targeting large-scale applications. Leveraging prior knowledge from real-time filtering as primary guidance, complemented by mechanistic and statistical features, our approach significantly improves accuracy and...

Children with congenital heart defects increasingly survive to adulthood, but the non-physiological Fontan circulation imposed by current surgical palliation leads to significant sequelae and reduced lifespan. Restoring subpulmonic pumping function remains a long-standing goal, and there have been several attempts using regenerative medicine approaches. These efforts have lacked biomechanical rigor, however, and have not achieved the requisite functionality. Here, we introduce an analytically...