Aging and Disease最新文献

Predicting health trajectories and accurately measuring aging processes across the human lifespan remain profound scientific challenges. Assessing the effectiveness and impact of interventions targeting aging is even more elusive, largely due to the intricate, multidimensional nature of aging-a process that defies simple quantification. Traditional biomarkers offer only partial perspectives, capturing limited aspects of the aging landscape. Yet, over the past decade, groundbreaking advancements have emerged. Epigenetic clocks, derived from DNA methylation patterns, have established themselves as powerful aging biomarkers, capable of estimating biological age and assessing aging rates across diverse tissues with remarkable precision. These clocks provide predictive insights into mortality and age-related disease risks, effectively distinguishing biological age from chronological age and illuminating enduring questions in gerontology. Despite significant progress in epigenetic clock development, substantial challenges remain, underscoring the need for continued investigation to fully unlock their potential in the science of aging.

Skeletal muscle dysfunction (SMD), one of the extrapulmonary complications in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), considerably influences patient prognosis. Mitochondria regulates their dynamic networks through a mitochondria quality control (MQC) mechanism, involving mitochondrial biogenesis, mitochondrial dynamics, and mitophagy. The MQC is crucial for mitochondrial homeostasis and health, and disruption of it can lead to mitochondrial damage, which is a key factor in the structural and functional impairment of skeletal muscle in COPD. The mitochondria in the skeletal muscles of these patients undergo changes, mainly including decrease in mitochondrial density and biogenesis levels, imbalanced mitochondrial fission and fusion, and altered mitophagy status. However, the potential mechanisms linking MQC to the damaged structure and function of skeletal muscles in COPD have not been fully clarified. Therefore, this review highlights the effects and potential pathways of the MQC system on the dysfunction of skeletal muscle (muscle atrophy, impaired myogenesis and regeneration, and aerobic endurance) in patients with COPD, and summarizes potential interventions targeted MQC, intending to provide a theoretical basis for further research on COPD, improve SMD, and enhance the quality of life.

Vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID), resulting from chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, represent the second most prevalent form of dementia globally. Aerobic exercise is widely acknowledged as an effective intervention for various cognitive disorders. This study utilized a bilateral common carotid artery stenosis (BCAS) model to investigate whether aerobic exercise promotes cognitive recovery through the Annexin-A1 (ANXA1)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) axis in BCAS mice. Our findings demonstrate that aerobic exercise improved spatial memory in BCAS mice by enhancing white matter (WM) integrity and hippocampal function. WM integrity was confirmed through Luxol Fast Blue (LFB) staining and protein assays. Additionally, aerobic exercise mitigated BCAS-induced long-term potentiation (LTP) decay and upregulated hippocampal expression of key synaptic proteins, including N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunits NR2B and NR1, vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (vGluT1), and the synaptic scaffolding protein postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95). Furthermore, aerobic exercise enhanced the expression of the anti-inflammatory mediator ANXA1 through exosome secretion while simultaneously suppressing the MAPK signaling pathway. These molecular changes were associated with increased astrocyte proliferation and the polarization of astrocytes toward the A2 phenotype. These findings were further validated using an in vitro co-culture model of astrocytes (U251) and neurons (HT22). In summary, our study demonstrates that aerobic exercise improves WM integrity and hippocampal function by modulating the ANXA1/MAPK axis following astrocyte polarization. Thus, aerobic exercise emerges as a promising intervention for promoting functional recovery in VCID.

Neuroinflammation plays a critical role in Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's diseases (PD) onset, pathophysiology, and progression. The aim of our meta-analysis was to review the available literature to assess the role of neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of the two most common neurological diseases: Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Two medical databases were searched: Web of Science and PubMed in the period from 2009-2023, where a total of 37 publications that met the inclusion criteria were selected for further evaluation. Both patients with AD and with PD showed statistically significantly higher levels of interleukin IL-6 compared to the control group: p-value of 0.0034 for AD (SMD, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.39-1.96) and p-value of 0.0487 for PD (SMD 0.29 95% Cl 0.00-0.59). In AD patients, statistical significance (for random effect) was also observed for IL-1β, where higher values of this cytokine were recorded in patients compared to controls (p-value <0.001). In turn, in patients with PD, apart from IL-6, statistical significance was also observed for tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (p= 0.0431, SMD 0.52 95%Cl 0.02-1.02). Significant heterogeneity was also recorded (Q =85.48; P < 0.01; I² = 87%). In both study groups, significant differences in common effect were observed for the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, which could suggest a protective effect of this cytokine in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. The obtained results reinforce the existing clinical evidence that Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are accompanied by an inflammatory response, with considerably higher blood levels observed for pro-inflammatory cytokines: IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β.

The negative effects of particulate matter up to 2.5 μm in diameter (PM_2.5) and their mediating mechanisms have been studied in various tissues. However, little is known about the mechanism and long-term tracking underlying the sex-dependent effects of PM_2.5 on skeletal muscle system modulation. During youth, skeletal muscle grows rapidly and develops at its highest rate. Here we explore how exposure to atmospherically relevant levels of artificial PM_2.5 affects the skeletal muscle system in 4-week-old C57BL6 mice according to sex and track the effects for 15 months post-exposure. We found that PM_2.5 retarded muscle fiber growth and caused mitochondrial damage by modulating factors related to mitochondrial kinetics. However, the effects of PM_2.5 on the modulation of the skeletal muscle system differed by sex and post-exposure time. The negative impacts of PM_2.5 on skeletal muscle continued until they were overwhelmed by aging-related oxidative stress and inflammation, which were more severe in older PM_2.5-exposed female mice compared with male mice. Older PM_2.5-exposed female mice, but not older PM_2.5-exposed male mice, exhibited obesity-related phenotypes in the form of increased weight and fat mass. Overall, initial exposure to PM_2.5 affected the skeletal muscle system with long-lasting impacts that differed according to sex.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease, which is mainly characterized by the degeneration of articular cartilage, inflammation of the synovial membrane of the joint, and changes in the surrounding bone tissue. With the increase of age and weight, the incidence of OA gradually increases, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. The primary pharmacological treatments for OA include analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. However, these medications primarily provide symptomatic relief and are associated with significant side effects. Chitosan, derived from the deacetylation of chitin, has excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and can promote the repair of articular cartilage. Chitosan can be used as a viscosupplement, drug carrier, cartilage tissue engineering scaffold or other forms. In this review, we systematically summarize the applications of chitosan and its derivatives in the treatment of OA.

Angina pectoris (AP), a clinical syndrome characterized by paroxysmal chest pain, is caused by insufficient blood supply to the coronary arteries and sudden temporary myocardial ischemia and hypoxia. Long-term AP typically induces other cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction and heart failure, posing a serious threat to patient safety. However, AP's complex pathological mechanisms and developmental processes introduce significant challenges in the rapid diagnosis and accurate treatment of its different subtypes, including stable angina pectoris (SAP), unstable angina pectoris (UAP), and variant angina pectoris (VAP). Omics research has contributed significantly to revealing the pathological mechanisms of various diseases with the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing approaches. The application of multi-omics approaches effectively interprets systematic information on diseases from the perspective of genes, RNAs, proteins, and metabolites. Integrating multi-omics research introduces novel avenues for identifying biomarkers to distinguish different AP subtypes. This study reviewed articles related to multi-omics and AP to elaborate on the research progress in multi-omics approaches (including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics), summarized their applications in screening biomarkers employed to discriminate multiple AP subtypes, and delineated integration methods for multi-omics approaches. Finally, we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of applying a single-omics approach in distinguishing diverse AP subtypes. Our review demonstrated that the integration of multi-omics technologies is preferable for quick and precise diagnosis of the three AP types, namely SAP, UAP, and VAP.

The human body contains approximately 100 trillion microorganisms, predominantly within the gastrointestinal tract, collectively called the gut microbiota. Investigations have revealed the bidirectional communication between the gut microbiota and the brain, characterized as the "microbiota-gut-brain axis." This axis represents an important regulator of brain development and function, immune system development, and nutrient metabolism, making it a target for efforts to alleviate the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs). Despite extensive biomedical and clinical research, our understanding of the causes, optimal treatment, and progression of NDDs remains limited. This paper aims to summarize the available knowledge on the role played by gut microbiota and how it is connected to the progression of neurodegenerative conditions; in particular, the relationship between the microbiota and gut-brain communications and the gut microbiota and neuro-immune conditions is reviewed. We discuss how and why the gut immune system communicates with the brain and how this communication impacts neurodegeneration. Next, we examine the alterations in the gut microbiota, immune response, and brain changes associated with gut dysbiosis. Finally, we highlight the preclinical and clinical evidence for probiotics, prebiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation, dietary supplements, natural drugs, and exercise intervention as potential therapeutic approaches that could lead to a new treatment paradigm for NDDs.

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) is crucial to various brain functions. Neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation and stress can impair AHN, contributing to the development of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Stress is known to extensively affect both the brain and peripheral immune system. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying stress-induced impairments in AHN remain unclear. In this study, we found that, unlike neuroinflammatory conditions, stress significantly inhibited AHN independently of microglial activation, suggesting a novel mechanism mediating stress-impaired AHN. Since stress modulates peripheral immune cells, we examined the distribution of immune cells infiltrating the brain. We found a significant decrease of infiltrated Ly6C^hi monocytes in the brain parenchyma. In the blood, adoptively transferred ZsGreen⁺ Ly6C^hi monocytes drastically reduced due to stress-induced homing to the bone marrow. Adrenalectomy (ADX) experiments revealed that monocyte homing is regulated by glucocorticoid and may cause impairments in AHN. Depleting peripheral circulating monocytes reduced brain-resident Ly6C^hi monocytes and replicated the stress-induced inhibition of AHN, independent of microglia activation. RNA sequencing analysis of Ly6C^hi monocytes revealed a stress-induced transcriptional profile, suggesting their supportive role in neuronal functions. Together, these findings demonstrate a novel and essential role of brain resident Ly6C^hi monocytes in maintaining AHN at basal level, which is important for brain functions.