Groundbreaking research from Rockefeller University has produced the world’s largest cellular atlas of mammalian aging. The study, published in Science, analyzed over 21 million cells from all major organs of mice at five distinct life stages. Led by graduate student Zehao Zhang and lab leader Junyue Cao, the team employed single-cell sequencing to reveal key age and sex differences in cellular dynamics.
The findings suggest that aging is not a linear process but rather a developmental stage sparked by specific molecular cues. Certain cell populations change in every organ, both in the same way and at the same time, during specific stages of life. These changes are controlled by the same molecular features, providing potential targets for delaying or reprogramming the aging process.
The study also identified age-related changes in immune cells, which can lead to inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. Conversely, a lack of these cells reversed changes associated with aging in other cell types. The researchers found that some extremely rare cell types, such as pituitary gland cells, play critical roles in growth, reproductive development, and organ function.
Moreover, the study revealed hundreds of cellular states that differ between male and female mice in every organ, including a female-specific expansion of aging-associated B cells. This highlights the importance of having sex-balanced cell samples in aging and disease studies.
The 21-million-cell dataset, called PanSci, provides a valuable resource for future research. Scientists can extract data from this resource to identify cellular subtypes involved in aging and develop sex-specific treatments. Researchers are also invited to mine PanSci for their own research, as it offers a well-curated and annotated platform for applications such as age prediction, finding rare cell types, and building virtual cells for in silico perturbation studies.
Source: https://scitechdaily.com/groundbreaking-21-million-cell-study-revises-our-understanding-of-aging