Aging & Longevity

This editorial delineates the conceptual distinctions among lifespan, longevity, and healthspan in biogerontology. Lifespan is defined as the chronological duration from birth to biological death. Longevity refers to the capacity for survival beyond the species-typical average and is best understood probabilistically rather than as a predetermined limit. Healthspan, by contrast, lacks a uniform definition but is most commonly described as the period of life free from major chronic disease and...

CONCLUSION: The between-couple findings support the similarity-attraction theory and highlight gender-specific role transitions that influence cognitive aging, while the absence of within-couple cognitive concordance may be due to the length of assessment intervals or individual differences. These findings emphasize the need for future research with more frequent assessments and better control of trait-like characteristics to clarify these dynamics and support targeted cognitive health...

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...

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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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...

Human aging is marked by progressive reorganization of large-scale functional brain networks; these brain network changes have been linked to cognitive decline and disease vulnerability. Conversely, while mice have served as powerful models for understanding the molecular and cellular changes that occur over the lifespan, an absence of precise characterization of age-related changes in large-scale functional brain network organization has limited cross-species translational insights. Here, using...

For oxide-supported metal catalysts, metal-support interaction (MSI) facilitates metal dispersion at the expense of the metallic character, resulting in a trade-off between active site utilization and intrinsic activity. Here, we used a thermal aging strategy to modulate the MSI in Cu/CeO(2) catalysts, facilitating the formation of metallic Cu sites upon H(2) reduction while maintaining metal dispersion. Systematic experiments confirmed that thermal aging at 800°C lowered the reduction...

Primary human hepatocyte (PHH)-derived organoids form grape-like clusters with proliferative capacity, hepatocyte functionality, and multipolar polarity, serving as valuable models for liver biology and therapeutics. However, deriving comparable organoids from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) remains difficult. Here, we established a defined system to differentiate hESC-derived hepatoblast organoids into hepatocyte organoids (heporgs) with two morphologies: spheroid-like (S-heporgs) and...

As climate warming accelerates, shifts in plant phenology are reshaping the functioning and stability of terrestrial ecosystems. While the roles of climatic drivers in shaping phenological responses to warming are well established, the influence of intrinsic plant functional traits remains poorly understood. Here, we combine two complementary approaches through a meta-analysis of 124 field warming experiments and an analysis of long-term phenological monitoring networks (CPON and USA‑NPN) to...

Calcium signalling in astrocytes is a fundamental mechanism for maintaining brain homeostasis, shaping neuronal activity, and coordinating vascular and immune responses. Once considered secondary to neuronal signalling, astrocytic Ca^(2+) dynamics are now recognized as highly versatile, spatially compartmentalized and essential for regulating neurotransmitter uptake, ion buffering, metabolic support and mitochondrial function. Accumulating evidence shows that these Ca^(2+) signalling pathways...