Author Correction: Destabilizing heterochromatin by APOE mediates senescence.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Published Erratum↗
Biomedical subjects
Weiqi Zhang
Publications and source records attributed to Weiqi Zhang.
Detection of Residual Pluripotent Stem Cells in Differentiated Cells-General Requirements for Probe-Based Quantitative PCR Assay.
Residual PSC detection follows ultra‑trace‑analysis principles. LOD supports qualitative assessment. Assays employ PSC‑specific markers and proper references, with adaptation to differentiated cell populations from diverse PSC sources.
Editorial↗
Testing for Bacteria and Fungi in Cells and Ancillary Reagents-Probe-Based Quantitative PCR Assays.
This document specifies the technical elements for bacteria and fungi detection by PCR assay which enables rapid, broad-spectrum detection of bacteria and fungi with high sensitivity. Qualitative judgement is based on LOD. Key detection points include efficient nucleic acid extraction, broad-spectrum primer-probe design, high amplification efficiency and minimised background interference.
Editorial↗
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↗
Metabolome-driven rhizosphere microbiome assembly determining the health of medicinal herb (Angelica sinensis) against root rot.
BACKGROUND: The rhizosphere-associated microbiota plays a crucial role in plant responses to disease stress. Plant secondary metabolites are recognized as crucial mediators in the assembly of rhizosphere microbial communities, particularly by enhancing the colonization of beneficial microorganisms. Despite this recognized importance, a deeper understanding of how such metabolome-driven microbiome assembly specifically determines plant resistance against soil-borne diseases is still lacking. RESULTS: Here, we focused on the widely planted medicinal plant Angelica sinensis and demonstrated that root rot-diseased rhizosphere soils (DRS) exhibited a higher relative abundance of Fusarium and a lower relative abundance of Streptomyces compared to healthy rhizosphere soils (HRS). Shotgun metagenomic sequencing revealed that metabolism-associated genes, particularly those related to steroid degradation, are significantly enriched in HRS samples. Subsequent genome and functional gene analysis of Streptomyces revealed that the steroid degradation-related genes are associated with rhizosphere colonization in hosts. Rhizosphere Streptomyces S15 directly antagonized Fusarium and enhanced the root resistance of A. sinensis. Comparative metabolomics showed that A. sinensis plants from HRS secreted more lipid and lipid-like molecules than those from DRS, especially sterol lipids and long-chain fatty acids, which promoted the growth of Streptomyces S15 isolates. Transcriptome analysis validated that the lipid hormones are essential for sporulation, biofilm formation, and streptomycin biosynthesis of S15 strain. Finally, exogenous application of synbiotics (lipid prebiotics and S15) to A. sinensis resulted in the enrichment of S15-homologous Streptomyces amplicon sequence variant (ASV), further establishing beneficial bacterial communities in Fusarium-stressed rhizospheres. CONCLUSIONS: Our study proposes that A. sinensis recruits steroid-metabolizing Streptomyces species by exuding key lipid compounds (i.e., methyl jasmonate and brassinolide) to combat Fusarium root rot. This study provides novel insights into using functional synbiotics as a promising strategy for manipulating plant-microbiome interactions to promote sustainable agriculture. Video Abstract.
Rhizosphere↗
Nuclear-lamin-guided plastic positioning and folding of the human genome.
The human genome exhibits a highly ordered hierarchical architecture, yet the mechanisms governing its large-scale organization remain poorly understood. Here, we generate lamin single-, double-, and triple-knockout human embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells (hESCs and hMSCs) to investigate the role of lamins in the spatial organization of the human genome. Complete lamin depletion in hMSCs triggers extensive genome repositioning, disrupts chromosome territories, and dissolves long-range compartment clustering and mega-loops. Lamin loss affects both the nuclear periphery and interior, causing partial inversion and dispersion of nuclear speckles, accompanied by reduced global transcription and impaired stem cell homeostasis. Re-expression of wild-type lamin A, which interacts with the speckle scaffold protein SON, partially restores the organizational and transcriptional defects, while the disease-associated E161K mutant disrupts SON binding and shows limited recovery. Our results elucidate the multifaceted roles of lamins in nuclear organization and link their dysfunction to the pathogenesis of laminopathies.
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↗