Author Correction: Destabilizing heterochromatin by APOE mediates senescence.
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Published Erratum↗
Biomedical subjects
Si Wang
Publications and source records attributed to Si Wang.
Sex-specific aging clocks from a large-scale human phenome reveal distinct aging transitions and circulating signatures.
Aging is a primary risk factor for chronic diseases, yet its progression varies among individuals and between sexes. Here, under the X-Age Project, we profiled the clinical aging phenome of the Multicentric Chinese Aging Study (mCAS) through a cross-sectional analysis of 172 clinical measures from more than 100,000 participants aged 18-98 years across three centers. These profiles enabled sex-specific clinical aging clocks that revealed divergent aging trajectories between women and men during midlife that converged in later life. Phenome-wide analyses revealed age-related accumulation of metabolic factors, including low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, glucose and uric acid, and tumor markers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen and human epithelial protein 4. These age-accumulating factors induced senescence-related phenotypes in human endothelial cells. Furthermore, a high-fat diet mouse model with dietary reversal supported the modifiability of metabolic burden-induced aging. Together, this work establishes metabolic and tumor marker accumulation as actionable drivers of human aging, paving the way for personalized, sex-stratified geroprotective interventions.
Humans↗
A geroprotective probiotic and its functional metabolite counteract inflammaging to extend healthspan.
The gut microbiome profoundly influences host aging, yet the specific microbes and mechanisms governing divergent aging trajectories remain elusive. In this study, we delineated enterotype-specific gut microbial remodeling during aging and developed a microbiome-based aging clock (MicroAge) to track biological aging trajectories. We identified Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum (B. pseudocatenulatum) as a candidate geroprotective species consistently depleted during aging across both sexes and multiple Chinese cohorts. In naturally aged mice, oral B. pseudocatenulatum monotherapy rescued intestinal homeostasis, mitigated multiorgan inflammaging, enhanced cognitive-motor performance and extended healthspan. Mechanistically, we characterized 5-aminovaleric acid betaine (5-AVAB) as a key B. pseudocatenulatum-derived metabolite whose levels decline physiologically in aging humans. 5-AVAB supplementation partially recapitulated a broad spectrum of the systemic benefits observed with B. pseudocatenulatum treatment, including improved cognitive and motor function and suppressed multiorgan inflammaging. Our findings identify the B. pseudocatenulatum-5-AVAB axis as a promising target for microbiome-based interventions to promote healthy aging.
Animals↗
Ovarian aging and systemic health: Mechanisms and emerging intervention strategies.
Ovarian aging may contribute to systemic aging via the ovarian-systemic axis. This review outlines intrinsic ovarian cellular defects such as genomic instability, epigenetic shifts, and mitochondrial and proteostasis damage, which may trigger senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP)-related inflammaging, fibrosis, and distal pro-aging signals. Ovarian-derived endocrine disruption, especially estrogen decline, broadly affects bodily physiology. We summarize emerging multimodal interventions, including senolytics, metabolic reprogramming, regenerative medicine, and systemic approaches, and we discuss their dual potential to preserve fertility and intercept ovarian contributions to systemic aging. Ovarian aging is possibly associated with female age-related multimorbidity. Ovary-targeted prevention may extend healthspan, as assessed by combined reproductive and systemic clinical evaluations.
Humans↗
Destabilizing heterochromatin by APOE mediates senescence.
Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is a component of lipoprotein particles that function in the homeostasis of cholesterol and other lipids. Although APOE is genetically associated with human longevity and Alzheimer's disease, its mechanistic role in aging is largely unknown. Here, we used human genetic, stress-induced and physiological cellular aging models to explore APOE-driven processes in stem cell homeostasis and aging. We report that in aged human mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs), APOE accumulation is a driver for cellular senescence. By contrast, CRISPR-Cas9-mediated deletion of APOE endows human MPCs with resistance to cellular senescence. Mechanistically, we discovered that APOE functions as a destabilizer for heterochromatin. Specifically, increased APOE leads to the degradation of nuclear lamina proteins and a heterochromatin-associated protein KRAB-associated protein 1 via the autophagy-lysosomal pathway, thereby disrupting heterochromatin and causing senescence. Altogether, our findings uncover a role of APOE as an epigenetic mediator of senescence and provide potential targets to ameliorate aging-related diseases.
Humans↗