Single-cell transcriptomic analysis uncovers diverse and dynamic senescent cell populations.

Senescence is a state of enduring growth arrest triggered by sublethal cell damage. Given that senescent cells actively secrete proinflammatory and matrix-remodeling proteins, their accumulation in tissues of older persons has been linked to many diseases of aging. Despite intense interest in identifying robust markers of senescence, the highly heterogeneous and dynamic nature of the senescent phenotype has made this task difficult. Here, we set out to comprehensively analyze the senescent transcriptome of human diploid fibroblasts at the individual-cell scale by performing single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis through two approaches. First, we characterized the different cell states in cultures undergoing senescence triggered by different stresses, and found distinct cell subpopulations that expressed mRNAs encoding proteins with roles in growth arrest, survival, and the secretory phenotype. Second, we characterized the dynamic changes in the transcriptomes of cells as they developed etoposide-induced senescence; by tracking cell transitions across this process, we found two different senescence programs that developed divergently, one in which cells expressed traditional senescence markers such as p16 (CDKN2A) mRNA, and another in which cells expressed long noncoding RNAs and splicing was dysregulated. Finally, we obtained evidence that the proliferation status at the time of senescence initiation affected the path of senescence, as determined based on the expressed RNAs. We propose that a deeper understanding of the transcriptomes during the progression of different senescent cell phenotypes will help develop more effective interventions directed at this detrimental cell population.

Olfactory dysfunction in aging and neurodegenerative diseases.

Alterations in olfactory functions are proposed to be early biomarkers for neurodegeneration. Many neurodegenerative diseases are age-related, including two of the most common, Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The establishment of biomarkers that promote early risk identification is critical for the implementation of early treatment to postpone or avert pathological development. Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is seen in 90% of early-stage PD patients and 85% of patients with early-stage AD, which makes it an attractive biomarker for early diagnosis of these diseases. Here, we systematically review widely applied smelling tests available for humans as well as olfaction assessments performed in some animal models and the relationships between OD and normal aging, PD, AD, and other conditions. The utility of OD as a biomarker for neurodegenerative disease diagnosis and future research directions are also discussed.

NAD+ supplementation prevents STING-induced senescence in ataxia telangiectasia by improving mitophagy.

Senescence phenotypes and mitochondrial dysfunction are implicated in aging and in premature aging diseases, including ataxia telangiectasia (A-T). Loss of mitochondrial function can drive age-related decline in the brain, but little is known about whether improving mitochondrial homeostasis alleviates senescence phenotypes. We demonstrate here that mitochondrial dysfunction and cellular senescence with a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) occur in A-T patient fibroblasts, and in ATM-deficient cells and mice. Senescence is mediated by stimulator of interferon genes (STING) and involves ectopic cytoplasmic DNA. We further show that boosting intracellular NAD+ levels with nicotinamide riboside (NR) prevents senescence and SASP by promoting mitophagy in a PINK1-dependent manner. NR treatment also prevents neurodegeneration, suppresses senescence and neuroinflammation, and improves motor function in Atm-/- mice. Our findings suggest a central role for mitochondrial dysfunction-induced senescence in A-T pathogenesis, and that enhancing mitophagy as a potential therapeutic intervention.

DNA damage invokes mitophagy through a pathway involving Spata18.

Mitochondria are vital for cellular energy supply and intracellular signaling after stress. Here, we aimed to investigate how mitochondria respond to acute DNA damage with respect to mitophagy, which is an important mitochondrial quality control process. Our results show that mitophagy increases after DNA damage in primary fibroblasts, murine neurons and Caenorhabditis elegans neurons. Our results indicate that modulation of mitophagy after DNA damage is independent of the type of DNA damage stimuli used and that the protein Spata18 is an important player in this process. Knockdown of Spata18 suppresses mitophagy, disturbs mitochondrial Ca2+ homeostasis, affects ATP production, and attenuates DNA repair. Importantly, mitophagy after DNA damage is a vital cellular response to maintain mitochondrial functions and DNA repair.