Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of the hypothalamic median eminence during aging.

J Genet Genomics

State Key Laboratory of Molecular Development Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, China; Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100045, China. Electronic address:

Published: June 2022

AI Article Synopsis

  • Aging negatively affects how our cells and systems function, particularly in the hypothalamic median eminence (ME), which connects the brain's neural and hormonal responses.
  • The study analyzes the transcriptional changes in young and middle-aged mouse ME at a single-cell level, identifying key age-related differences that can help us understand the aging process.
  • Researchers found that specific cell types, especially vascular and leptomeningeal cells, may lead to aging effects through inflammation and other mechanisms, suggesting potential targets for anti-aging treatments.

Article Abstract

Aging is a slow and progressive natural process that compromises the normal functions of cells, tissues, organs, and systems. The aging of the hypothalamic median eminence (ME), a structural gate linking neural and endocrine systems, may impair hormone release, energy homeostasis, and central sensing of circulating molecules, leading to systemic and reproductive aging. However, the molecular and cellular features of ME aging remain largely unknown. Here, we describe the transcriptional landscape of young and middle-aged mouse ME at single-cell resolution, revealing the common and cell type-specific transcriptional changes with age. The transcriptional changes in cell-intrinsic programs, cell-cell crosstalk, and cell-extrinsic factors highlight five molecular features of ME aging and also implicate several potentially druggable targets at cellular, signaling, and molecular levels. Importantly, our results suggest that vascular and leptomeningeal cells may lead the asynchronized aging process among diverse cell types and drive local inflammation and cellular senescence via a unique secretome. Together, our study uncovers how intrinsic and extrinsic features of each cell type in the hypothalamic ME are changed by the aging process, which will facilitate our understanding of brain aging and provide clues for efficient anti-aging intervention at the middle-aged stage.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jgg.2022.01.001DOI Listing

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