A new research paper was published in Aging (abbreviated as "Aging (Albany NY)" by Medline/PubMed and as "Aging-US" by Web of Science) on the cover of Volume 14, Issue 14, entitled, “Aging the brain: multi-region methylation principal component based clock in the context of Alzheimer’s disease.”

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk increases exponentially with age and is associated with multiple molecular hallmarks of aging, one of which is epigenetic alterations. Epigenetic age predictors based on 5’ cytosine methylation (DNAm), or epigenetic clocks, have previously suggested that epigenetic age acceleration may occur in AD brain tissue. 

“Epigenetic clocks are promising tools for the quantification of biological aging, yet we hypothesize that investigation of brain aging in AD will be assisted by the development of brain-specific epigenetic clocks.” 

In this new study, researchers Kyra L. Thrush, David A. Bennett, Christopher Gaiteri, Steve Horvath, Christopher H. van Dyck, Albert T. Higgins-Chen, and Morgan E. Levine, from Yale University, Rush University Medical Center, University of California Los Angeles, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, and Altos Labs, hypothesized that a brain age methylation-based predictor could be developed with meaningful disease associations and broad multi-brain-region utility.

“To test this, we used DNAm capture to generate a PC-based epigenetic predictor of brain aging which we show to: (1) strongly reflect AD neuropathology and cognitive decline, and (2) track age across multiple brain regions.”

The team generated a novel age predictor, termed PCBrainAge, that was trained solely in cortical samples. This predictor utilizes a combination of principal components analysis and regularized regression, which reduces technical noise and greatly improves test-retest reliability.

“To characterize the scope of PCBrainAge’s utility, we generated DNAm data from multiple brain regions in a sample from the Religious Orders Study and Rush Memory and Aging Project.”

PCBrainAge captures meaningful heterogeneity of aging: Its acceleration demonstrates stronger associations with clinical AD dementia, pathologic AD, and APOE ε4 carrier status compared to extant epigenetic age predictors. It further does so across multiple cortical and subcortical regions. 

“Overall, PCBrainAge’s increased reliability and specificity makes it a particularly promising tool for investigating heterogeneity in brain aging, as well as epigenetic alterations underlying AD risk and resilience.”

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.204196 

Corresponding Author: Albert T. Higgins-Chen - Email: a.higginschen@yale.edu 

Keywords: epigenetic clocks, unsupervised machine learning, brain, Alzheimer's disease, age acceleration

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About Aging-US

Launched in 2009, Aging-US publishes papers of general interest and biological significance in all fields of aging research and age-related diseases, including cancer—and now, with a special focus on COVID-19 vulnerability as an age-dependent syndrome. Topics in Aging-US go beyond traditional gerontology, including, but not limited to, cellular and molecular biology, human age-related diseases, pathology in model organisms, signal transduction pathways (e.g., p53, sirtuins, and PI-3K/AKT/mTOR, among others), and approaches to modulating these signaling pathways.

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Multi-region Methylation Principal Component Based Clock in the Context of Alzheimer’s

BUFFALO, NY- May 9, 2024 – A new review #paper was #published in advance by Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science), entitled, “The beginning of becoming a human.”

According to birth certificates, the life of a child begins once their body comes out of the mother’s womb. In this new review, researchers Polina A. Loseva and Vadim N. Gladyshev from Harvard Medical School pose the controversial question: when does their organismal life begin? Science holds a palette of answers—depending on how one defines a human life.

In 1984, a commission on the regulatory framework for human embryo experimentation opted not to answer this question, instead setting a boundary, 14 days post-fertilization, beyond which any experiments were forbidden. Recently, as the reproductive technologies developed and the demand for experimentation grew stronger, this boundary may be set aside leaving the ultimate decision to local oversight committees. 

While science has not come closer to setting a zero point for human life, there has been significant progress in our understanding of early mammalian embryogenesis. It has become clear that the 14-day stage does in fact possess features, which make it a foundational time point for a developing human. Importantly, this stage defines the separation of soma from the germline and marks the boundary between rejuvenation and aging. 

“We explore how different levels of life organization emerge during human development and suggest a new meaning for the 14-day stage in organismal life that is grounded in recent mechanistic advances and insights from aging studies.”

DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.205824

Corresponding authors - Polina A. Loseva - polina.loseva89@gmail.com, and Vadim N. Gladyshev - vgladyshev@rics.bwh.harvard.edu

Video short - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LYjXYaePaM

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Keywords - aging, human, life, 14-day rule

About Aging-US

Aging publishes research papers in all fields of aging research including but not limited, aging from yeast to mammals, cellular senescence, age-related diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s diseases and their prevention and treatment, anti-aging strategies and drug development and especially the role of signal transduction pathways such as mTOR in aging and potential approaches to modulate these signaling pathways to extend lifespan. The journal aims to promote treatment of age-related diseases by slowing down aging, validation of anti-aging drugs by treating age-related diseases, prevention of cancer by inhibiting aging. Cancer and COVID-19 are age-related diseases.

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The Beginning of Becoming a Human: A Review

The profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been felt across various domains, including the realm of cancer research and treatment. As scientists delve deeper into the intricate mechanisms of this viral pathogen, intriguing revelations have emerged regarding its potential influence on cellular processes pivotal to cancer development and progression. 

In a new study, researchers Wafik S. El-Deiry and Shengliang Zhang from Brown University and Lifespan Health System shed light on the intricate interplay between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and the tumor suppressor p53, a key guardian of genomic integrity. On May 3, 2024, they published their new research paper in Oncotarget’s Volume 15, entitled, “Transfected SARS-CoV-2 spike DNA for mammalian cell expression inhibits p53 activation of p21(WAF1), TRAIL Death Receptor DR5 and MDM2 proteins in cancer cells and increases cancer cell viability after chemotherapy exposure.”

In this study, researchers El-Deiry and Zhang uncovered a hitherto unknown facet of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein’s impact on cancer cells. Their findings, meticulously detailed in their research paper, have ignited a newfound curiosity within the scientific community.

Full blog - https://www.oncotarget.org/2024/05/09/sars-cov-2-spike-protein-disrupts-p53-tumor-suppressor-pathway/

Paper DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28582

Correspondence to - Wafik S. El-Deiry - wafik@brown.edu

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Keywords - cancer, SARS-COV2 spike, p53, MDM2, chemotherapy

About Oncotarget 

Oncotarget (a primarily oncology-focused, peer-reviewed, open access journal) aims to maximize research impact through insightful peer-review; eliminate borders between specialties by linking different fields of oncology, cancer research and biomedical sciences; and foster application of basic and clinical science.

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SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Disrupts p53 Tumor Suppressor Pathway

Dr. Chang-Yi Cui and Alexandra G. Zonnefeld from the Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics, National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, MD, discuss a research paper they co-authored that was published by Aging (Aging-US) in Volume 16, Issue 8, entitled, “Characterization of age-associated gene expression changes in mouse sweat glands.”

DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.205776

Corresponding authors - Chang-Yi Cui - cuic@mail.nih.gov, and Myriam Gorospe - gorospem@grc.nia.nih.gov

Video interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A_TREuSv54

Abstract

Evaporation of sweat on the skin surface is the major mechanism for dissipating heat in humans. The secretory capacity of sweat glands (SWGs) declines during aging, leading to heat intolerance in the elderly, but the mechanisms responsible for this decline are poorly understood. We investigated the molecular changes accompanying SWG aging in mice, where sweat tests confirmed a significant reduction of active SWGs in old mice relative to young mice. We first identified SWG-enriched mRNAs by comparing the skin transcriptome of Eda mutant Tabby male mice, which lack SWGs, with that of wild-type control mice by RNA-sequencing analysis. This comparison revealed 171 mRNAs enriched in SWGs, including 47 mRNAs encoding ‘core secretory’ proteins such as transcription factors, ion channels, ion transporters, and trans-synaptic signaling proteins. Among these, 28 SWG-enriched mRNAs showed significantly altered abundance in the aged male footpad skin, and 11 of them, including Foxa1, Best2, Chrm3, and Foxc1 mRNAs, were found in the ‘core secretory’ category. Consistent with the changes in mRNA expression levels, immunohistology revealed that higher numbers of secretory cells from old SWGs express the transcription factor FOXC1, the protein product of Foxc1 mRNA. In sum, our study identified mRNAs enriched in SWGs, including those that encode core secretory proteins, and altered abundance of these mRNAs and proteins with aging in mouse SWGs.

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Keywords - aging, FOXA1, BEST2, FOXC1, ectodysplasin/Eda, Tabby

About Aging-US

Aging publishes research papers in all fields of aging research including but not limited, aging from yeast to mammals, cellular senescence, age-related diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s diseases and their prevention and treatment, anti-aging strategies and drug development and especially the role of signal transduction pathways such as mTOR in aging and potential approaches to modulate these signaling pathways to extend lifespan. The journal aims to promote treatment of age-related diseases by slowing down aging, validation of anti-aging drugs by treating age-related diseases, prevention of cancer by inhibiting aging. Cancer and COVID-19 are age-related diseases.

Aging is indexed by PubMed/Medline (abbreviated as “Aging (Albany NY)”), PubMed Central, Web of Science: Science Citation Index Expanded (abbreviated as “Aging‐US” and listed in the Cell Biology and Geriatrics & Gerontology categories), Scopus (abbreviated as “Aging” and listed in the Cell Biology and Aging categories), Biological Abstracts, BIOSIS Previews, EMBASE, META (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative) (2018-2022), and Dimensions (Digital Science).

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Behind the Study: Characterization of Age-associated Gene Expression Changes in Mouse Sweat Glands

Behind the Study: Age-associated Gene Expression Changes in Mouse Sweat Glands

A traditional, twice-monthly, peer-reviewed, open-access journal covering all areas of research on aging and age-related diseases, including cancer and now, with a special focus on COVID-19 vulnerability as an age-dependent syndrome.

Read about the Aging (Aging-US) Scientific Integrity Process: https://aging-us.com/scientific-integrity

Multi-region Methylation Principal Component Based Clock in the Context of Alzheimer’s

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