Telomerase, senescence and ageing

Characteristics of T cell premature senescence in maintenance hemodialysis patients

BACKGROUND

Uremia-associated immunodeficiency, mainly characterized by T cell dysfunction, exists in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) and promotes systemic inflammation. However, T cell senescence, one of the causes of T cell dysfunction, has not been clearly revealed yet. In this cross-sectional research, we aimed to study the manifestation of T cell premature senescence in MHD patients and further investigate the associated clinical factors.

METHODS

76 MHD patients including 33 patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and 28 patients with arteriovenous fistula (AVF) event history were enrolled in this study. Complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) of T cell receptor (TCR) was analyzed by immune repertoire sequencing (IR-Seq). CD28- T cell subsets and expression of senescence marker p16 and p21 genes were detected by multicolor flow cytometry and RT-qPCR, respectively.

RESULTS

MHD patients had significantly decreased TCR diversity (P < 0.001), increased CDR3 clone proliferation (P = 0.001) and a left-skewed CDR3 length distribution. The proportion of CD4 + CD28- T cells increased in MHD patients (P = 0.014) and showed a negative correlation with TCR diversity (P = 0.001). p16 but not p21 expression in T cells was up-regulated in MHD patients (P = 0.039). Patients with CVD exhibited increased expression of p16 and p21 genes (P = 0.010 and 0.004, respectively), and patients with AVF events showed further TCR diversity and evenness reduction (P = 0.002 and 0.017, respectively) compared to patients without the comorbidities. Moreover, age, average convection volume, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and transferrin saturation were associated with TCR diversity or CD4 + CD28- T cell proportion (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

MHD patients undergo T cell premature senescence characterized by significant TCR diversity reduction and repertoire skew, as well as accumulation of the CD4 + CD28- subset and up-regulation of p16 gene. Patients with CVD or AVF events show higher level of immunosenescence. Furthermore, T cell senescence in MHD patients is associated with blood cholesterol and uremic toxin retention, suggesting potential intervention strategies in the future.

α-Tocotrienol Protects Neurons by Preventing Tau Hyperphosphorylation via Inhibiting Microtubule Affinity-Regulating Kinase Activation

In the pathological process of Alzheimer's disease, neuronal cell death is closely related to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Our previous studies have found that oxidative stress can activate microtubule affinity-regulating kinases, resulting in elevated phosphorylation levels of tau protein specifically at the Ser262 residue in N1E-115 cells that have been subjected to exposure to hydrogen peroxide. This process may be one of the pathogenic mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble, naturally occurring antioxidant that plays a crucial role in biological systems. This study aimed to examine the probable processes that contribute to the inhibiting effect on the abnormal phosphorylation of tau protein and the neuroprotective activity of a particular type of vitamin E, α-tocotrienol. The experimental analysis revealed that α-tocotrienol showed significant neuroprotective effects in the N1E-115 cell line. Our data further suggest that one of the mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effects of α-tocotrienol may be through the inhibition of microtubule affinity-regulated kinase activation, which significantly reduces the oxidative stress-induced aberrant elevation of p-Tau (Ser262) levels. These results indicate that α-tocotrienol may represent an intriguing strategy for treating or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

Hypertension in an ageing population: Diagnosis, mechanisms, collateral health risks, treatments, and clinical challenges

Ageing population is considerably increasing worldwide, which is considered to reflect an improved quality of life. However, longevity in the human lifespan has increased the burden of late-life illnesses including cancer, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular dysfunction. Of these, hypertension is the most common condition with huge health risks, with an increased prevalence among the elderly. In this review, we outline the current guidelines for defining hypertension and examine the detailed mechanisms underlying the relationship between hypertension and ageing-related outcomes, including sodium sensitivity, arterial stiffness, endothelial dysfunction, isolated systolic hypertension, white coat effect, and orthostatic hypertension. As hypertension-related collateral health risk increases among the elderly, the available management strategies are necessary to overcome the clinical treatment challenges faced among elderly population. To improve longevity and reduce adverse health effects, potential approaches producing crucial information into new era of medicine should be considered in the prevention and treatment of hypertension among elderly population. This review provides an overview of mechanisms underlying hypertension and its related collateral health risk in elderly population, along with multiple approaches and management strategies to improve the clinical challenges among elderly population.

Towards Healthy Longevity: Comprehensive Insights from Molecular Targets and Biomarkers to Biological Clocks

Aging is a complex and time-dependent decline in physiological function that affects most organisms, leading to increased risk of age-related diseases. Investigating the molecular underpinnings of aging is crucial to identify geroprotectors, precisely quantify biological age, and propose healthy longevity approaches. This review explores pathways that are currently being investigated as intervention targets and aging biomarkers spanning molecular, cellular, and systemic dimensions. Interventions that target these hallmarks may ameliorate the aging process, with some progressing to clinical trials. Biomarkers of these hallmarks are used to estimate biological aging and risk of aging-associated disease. Utilizing aging biomarkers, biological aging clocks can be constructed that predict a state of abnormal aging, age-related diseases, and increased mortality. Biological age estimation can therefore provide the basis for a fine-grained risk stratification by predicting all-cause mortality well ahead of the onset of specific diseases, thus offering a window for intervention. Yet, despite technological advancements, challenges persist due to individual variability and the dynamic nature of these biomarkers. Addressing this requires longitudinal studies for robust biomarker identification. Overall, utilizing the hallmarks of aging to discover new drug targets and develop new biomarkers opens new frontiers in medicine. Prospects involve multi-omics integration, machine learning, and personalized approaches for targeted interventions, promising a healthier aging population.

A Platinum-Aluminum Bimetallic Salen Complex for Pro-senescence Cancer Therapy

Cell senescence is defined as irreversible cell cycle arrest, which can be triggered by telomere shortening or by various types of genotoxic stress. Induction of senescence is emerging as a new strategy for the treatment of cancer, especially when sequentially combined with a second senolytic drug capable of killing the resulting senescent cells, however severely suffering from the undesired off-target side effects from the senolytic drugs. Here, we prepare a bimetalic platinum-aluminum salen complex (Alumiplatin) for cancer therapy-a combination of pro-senesence chemotherapy with in situ senotherapy to avoid the side effects. The aluminum salen moiety, as a G-quadruplex stabilizer, enhances the salen's ability to induce cancer cell senescence and this phenotype is in turn sensitive to the cytotoxic activity of the monofunctional platinum moiety. It exhibits an excellent capability for inducing senescence, a potent cytotoxic activity against cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo, and an improved safety profile compared to cisplatin. Therefore, Alumiplatin may be a good candidate to be further developed into safe and effective anticancer agents. This novel combination of cell senescence inducers with genotoxic drugs revolutionizes the therapy options of designing multi-targeting anticancer agents to improve the efficacy of anticancer therapies.

Marine Compound Exerts Antiaging Effect in Human Endothelial Progenitor Cells via Increasing Sirtuin1 Expression

Aging is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have demonstrated that compound 3 (C3), a derivative of marine compound xyloallenoide A isolated from the mangrove fungus Xylaria sp. (no. 2508), exhibited strong angiogenic activities in zebrafish. In this study, we examined the effects of C3 on the senescence of endothelial progenitor cells isolated from human peripheral blood (hEPCs). The results showed that treatment with angiotensin II (AngII) for 24 h induced hEPC senescence, as demonstrated by increased SA-β-galactosidase staining. Moreover, there is a significant decrease in telomerase activity and cellular viability in AngII-treated hEPCs. These changes in aging hEPCs were greatly recovered by C3 in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, C3 significantly restored the AngII-induced decrease of sirtuin type 1 (SIRT1) expression, a well-known antiaging protein. In addition, AngII increased AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation and reduced Akt phosphorylation in aging hEPCs, which were also reversed by C3. Importantly, the inhibition of C3 on hEPC senescence and AMPK/Akt dysregulation was significantly attenuated by the SIRT1-specific inhibitor nicotinoyl. These results indicated that C3 protects hEPC against AngII-induced senescence by increasing SIRT1 expression levels and balancing the AMPK/Akt signaling pathway. The inhibition of hEPCs senescence by C3 might protect EPCs against dysfunction induced by pathological factors in the elderly population. C3 may provide a novel drug candidate for the treatment of aging-related disorders.

Human granulosa cells of poor ovarian responder patients display telomeres shortening

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to compare the telomere length in granulosa cells of the young normal and poor ovarian responder patients and elderly patients undergoing ovarian stimulation for IVF.

METHODS

The main outcome measures granulosa cells telomere Length in the 3 study groups of patients undergoing IVF treatment in our center. 1) young normal responder patients (< 35 years); 2) young (< 35 years) poor ovarian responder patients; and 3) Elderly patients (40-45 years). Granulosa cells were obtained at the time of oocyte retrieval. Granulosa cells telomere length was assessed by absolute human telomere length quantification qPCR Assay.

RESULTS

The telomere length of the young normal responder was significantly longer as compared to young poor ovarian responder (15.5 vs 9.6 KB, p < 0.001) and the elderly patients (15.5 vs 10.66 KB, p < 0.002). No significant difference was observed in the telomere length between the young poor ovarian responder and the elderly patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Granulosa cells telomere length of the young normal responder was found to be significantly longer than young poor ovarian responder or elderly patients, highlighting the role of telomere length as a predictor, or contributor to poor oocyte yield following IVF treatment.

Silibinin ameliorates STING-mediated neuroinflammation via downregulation of ferroptotic damage in a sporadic Alzheimer's disease model

Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent cell death, is caused by lipid peroxidation. Noteworthily, accumulation of iron and lipid peroxidation are found in the proximity of the neuritic plaque, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the relationship between ferroptosis and neuroinflammation in AD is unclear. Silibinin, extracted from the Silybum marianum, is possibly developed as an agent for AD treatment from its neuroprotective effect, but the effect of silibinin on sporadic AD that accounts for more than 95% of AD remains unclear. To determine whether silibinin alleviates the pathogenesis of sporadic AD and investigate the underlying mechanisms, STZ-treated HT22 murine hippocampal neurons and intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin (ICV-STZ) rats, a sporadic AD model, were used in this study. Results show that silibinin not only promotes survival of STZ-treated HT22 cells, but also ameliorates the cognitive impairment and anxiety/depression-like behavior of ICV-STZ rats. We here demonstrate that silibinin evidently inhibits the protein level of p53 as well as upregulates the protein level of cystine/glutamate antiporter SLC7A11 and ferroptosis inhibitor GPX4, but not p21, leading to the protection against STZ-induced ferroptotic damage. Immunofluorescent staining also shows that accumulation of lipid peroxidation induced by ferroptotic damage leads to increased fluorescence of 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine (8-OHDG), a maker of oxidized DNA. The oxidized DNA then leaks to the cytoplasm and upregulates the expression of the stimulator of interferon gene (STING), which triggers the production of IFN-β and other inflammatory cascades including NF-κB/TNFα and NLRP3/caspase 1/IL-1β. However, the treatment with silibinin blocks the above pathological changes. Moreover, in HT22 cells with/without STZ treatment, GPX4-knockdown increases the protein level of STING, indicating that the ferroptotic damage leads to the activation of STING signaling pathway. These results imply that silibinin exerts neuroprotective effect on an STZ-induced sporadic AD model by downregulating ferroptotic damage and thus the downstream STING-mediated neuroinflammation.

Telomere attrition and inflammation: the chicken and the egg story

The challenge to improve human life span has progressed with the advent of health care services and technologies. This improvement poses a new challenge of an associated wave of diseases and pathologies that have not been observed or experienced. This has led to rise in geriatric population who are currently facing health challenges that needs to be addressed by the research community. This review focuses primarily on two mechanisms that have contributed to aging and associated pathologies: telomere attrition and inflammatory insults. A strong interplay appears to exist between telomere attrition and inflammation, and this could be the basis of many pathologies associated with increasing age. This creates a scientific dilemma as to what comes first: telomere attrition or inflammation. This review will enthuse the reader to the underlying molecules and mechanisms associated with telomere attrition and inflammation and their contribution to aging.

Nucleus pulposus cell senescence is regulated by substrate stiffness and is alleviated by LOX possibly through the integrin β1-p38 MAPK signaling pathway

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a main contributor to induce low back pain, and the pathogenic mechanism of IVDD remains unclear. The nucleus pulposus (NP) is a component of the intervertebral disc (IVD) that provides protection from mechanical stimuli. The matrix stiffness of NP tissue increases during the process of disc degeneration. Although several studies have found that pathological mechanical stimuli induce NP cell senescence, which is relevant for NP degeneration, however, the effect of matrix stiffness on NP cell senescence is not clear. Therefore, in the present study, we used polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel with controllable stiffness to mimic the matrix stiffness of normal (4 kPa) and severely degenerated (20 kPa) NP tissue. Rat NP cells were isolated and cultured on substrates with different stiffness, and the cell proliferation, SA-β-gal activity, cell cycle, telomerase activity and the phenotype markers of NP cells were analyzed. Moreover, cytoskeleton staining and NP cellular Young's modulus on different substrates were also measured. To further investigate how substrate stiffness affects NP cell senescence, lysyl oxidase (LOX) was used to restore the extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis of NP cells. The expression levels of integrin β1 and p38 MAPK were then measured. Our results showed that the 20 kPa substrate significantly induced NP cell senescence compared to the 4 kPa substrate. NP cells cultured on the 20 kPa substrate failed to maintain the expression of their phenotype markers. Furthermore, the 20 kPa substrate induced an increase of Young's modulus of NP cells, which possibly through up regulating the expressions of integrin β1 and p38 MAPK. These results indicated that the integrin β1-p38 MAPK signaling pathway may participated in substrate stiffness induced senescence of NP cells. LOX significantly increased ECM synthesis and inhibited substrate stiffness induced NP cell senescence, which indicated that matrix mechanics may be essential for maintaining the function of NP cell. Our results may provide a new perspective on the mechanism of IVDD by pathological matrix mechanics.

Cellular Senescence in Sarcopenia: Possible Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential

Aging promotes most degenerative pathologies in mammals, which are characterized by progressive decline of function at molecular, cellular, tissue, and organismal levels and account for a host of health care expenditures in both developing and developed nations. Sarcopenia is a prominent age-related disorder in musculoskeletal system. Defined as gradual and generalized chronic skeletal muscle disorder, sarcopenia involves accelerated loss of muscle mass, strength and function, which is associated with increased adverse functional outcomes and evolutionally refers to muscle wasting accompanied by other geriatric syndromes. More efforts have been made to clarify mechanisms underlying sarcopenia and new findings suggest that it may be feasible to delay age-related sarcopenia by modulating fundamental mechanisms such as cellular senescence. Cellular senescence refers to the essentially irreversible growth arrest mainly regulated by p53/p21^CIP1 and p16^INK4a/pRB pathways as organism ages, possibly detrimentally contributing to sarcopenia via muscle stem cells (MuSCs) dysfunction and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) while cellular senescence may have beneficial functions in counteracting cancer progression, tissue regeneration and wound healing. By now diverse studies in mice and humans have established that targeting cellular senescence is a powerful strategy to alleviating sarcopenia. However, the mechanisms through which senescent cells contribute to sarcopenia progression need to be further researched. We review the possible mechanisms involved in muscle stem cells (MuSCs) dysfunction and the SASP resulting from cellular senescence, their associations with sarcopenia, current emerging therapeutic opportunities based on targeting cellular senescence relevant to sarcopenia, and potential paths to developing clinical interventions genetically or pharmacologically.

HuB and HuD repress telomerase activity by dissociating HuR from TERC

The ubiquitous RNA-binding protein HuR (ELAVL1) promotes telomerase activity by associating with the telomerase noncoding RNA TERC. However, the role of the neural-specific members HuB, HuC, and HuD (ELAVL2-4) in telomerase activity is unknown. Here, we report that HuB and HuD, but not HuC, repress telomerase activity in human neuroblastoma cells. By associating with AU-rich sequences in TERC, HuB and HuD repressed the assembly of the TERT-TERC core complex. Furthermore, HuB and HuD competed with HuR for binding to TERC and antagonized the function of HuR that was previously shown to enhance telomerase activity to promote cell growth. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism controlling telomerase activity in human neuroblastoma cells that involves a competition between HuR and the related, neural-specific proteins HuB and HuD.

T-Cell Dysfunction as a Limitation of Adoptive Immunotherapy: Current Concepts and Mitigation Strategies

Simple Summary

T cells are immune cells that can be used to target infections or cancers. Adoptive T-cell immunotherapy leverages these properties and/or confers new features to T cells through ex vivo manipulations prior to their use in patients. However, as a “living drug,” the function of these cells can be hampered by several built-in physiological constraints and external factors that limit their efficacy. Manipulating T cells ex vivo can impart dysfunctional features to T cells through repeated stimulations and expansion, but it also offers many opportunities to improve the therapeutic potential of these cells, including emerging interventions to prevent or reverse T-cell dysfunction developing ex vivo or after transfer in patients. This review outlines the various forms of T-cell dysfunction, emphasizes how it affects various types of T-cell immunotherapy approaches, and describes current and anticipated strategies to limit T-cell dysfunction.

Abstract

Over the last decades, cellular immunotherapy has revealed its curative potential. However, inherent physiological characteristics of immune cells can limit the potency of this approach. Best defined in T cells, dysfunction associated with terminal differentiation, exhaustion, senescence, and activation-induced cell death, undermine adoptive cell therapies. In this review, we concentrate on how the multiple mechanisms that articulate the various forms of immune dysfunction impact cellular therapies primarily involving conventional T cells, but also other lymphoid subtypes. The repercussions of immune cell dysfunction across the full life cycle of cell therapy, from the source material, during manufacturing, and after adoptive transfer, are discussed, with an emphasis on strategies used during ex vivo manipulations to limit T-cell dysfunction. Applicable to cellular products prepared from native and unmodified immune cells, as well as genetically engineered therapeutics, the understanding and potential modulation of dysfunctional features are key to the development of improved cellular immunotherapies.

Cancer and Alzheimer's disease inverse relationship: an age-associated diverging derailment of shared pathways

Several epidemiological studies show an inverse association between cancer and Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is debated whether this association is the consequence of biological mechanisms shared by both these conditions or may be related to the pharmacological treatments carried out on the patients. The latter hypothesis, however, is not sustained by the available evidence. Hence, the focus of this review is to analyze common biological mechanisms for both cancer and AD and to build up a biological theory useful to explain the inverse correlation between AD and cancer. The review proposes a hypothesis, according to which several molecular players, prominently PIN1 and p53, have been investigated and considered involved in complex molecular interactions putatively associated with the inverse correlation. On the other hand, p53 involvement in both diseases seems to be a consequence of the aberrant activation of other proteins. Instead, PIN1 may be identified as a novel key regulator at the crossroad between cancer and AD. PIN1 is a peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase that catalyzes the cis-trans isomerization, thus regulating the conformation of different protein substrates after phosphorylation and modulating protein function. In particular, trans-conformations of Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) and tau are functional and "healthy", while cis-conformations, triggered after phosphorylation, are pathogenic. As an example, PIN1 accelerates APP cis-to-trans isomerization thus favoring the non-amyloidogenic pathway, while, in the absence of PIN1, APP is processed through the amyloidogenic pathway, thus predisposing to neurodegeneration. Furthermore, a link between PIN1 and tau regulation has been found, since when PIN1 function is inhibited, tau is hyperphosphorylated. Data from brain specimens of subjects affected by mild cognitive impairment and AD have revealed a very low PIN1 expression. Moreover, polymorphisms in PIN1 promoter correlated with an increased PIN1 expression are associated with a delay of sporadic AD age of onset, while a polymorphism related to a reduced PIN1 expression is associated with a decreased risk of multiple cancers. In the case of dementias, in particular of Alzheimer's disease, new biological markers and targets based on the discussed players can be developed based on a theoretical approach relying on different grounds compared to the past. An unbiased expansion of the rationale and of the targets may help to achieve in the field of neurodegenerative dementias similar advances to those attained in the case of cancer treatment.

Cellular Senescence: Mechanisms, Morphology, and Mouse Models

Cellular senescence is a cell cycle arrest in damaged or aged cells. Although this represents a critical mechanism of tumor suppression, persistence of senescent cells during aging induces chronic inflammation and tissue dysfunction through the adoption of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). This has been shown to promote the progression of age-associated diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, pulmonary fibrosis, and atherosclerosis. As the global population ages, the role of cellular senescence in disease is becoming a more critical area of research. In this review, mechanisms, biomarkers, and pathology of cellular senescence and SASP are described with a brief discussion of literature supporting a role for cellular senescence in veterinary diseases. Cell culture and mouse models used in senescence studies are also reviewed including the senescence-accelerated mouse-prone (SAMP), senescence pathway knockout mice (p53, p21 [CDKN1A], and p16 [CDKN2A]), and the more recently developed senolysis mice, which allow for direct visualization and elimination (or lysis) of senescent cells in live mice (p16-3MR and INK-ATTAC). These and other mouse models have demonstrated the importance of cellular senescence in embryogenesis and wound healing but have also identified a therapeutic benefit for targeting persistent senescent cells in age-associated diseases including neurodegeneration, diabetes, and cardiac fibrosis.

The Human Blood Transcriptome in a Large Population Cohort and Its Relation to Aging and Health

Background: The blood transcriptome is expected to provide a detailed picture of an organism's physiological state with potential outcomes for applications in medical diagnostics and molecular and epidemiological research. We here present the analysis of blood specimens of 3,388 adult individuals, together with phenotype characteristics such as disease history, medication status, lifestyle factors, and body mass index (BMI). The size and heterogeneity of this data challenges analytics in terms of dimension reduction, knowledge mining, feature extraction, and data integration.

Methods: Self-organizing maps (SOM)-machine learning was applied to study transcriptional states on a population-wide scale. This method permits a detailed description and visualization of the molecular heterogeneity of transcriptomes and of their association with different phenotypic features.

Results: The diversity of transcriptomes is described by personalized SOM-portraits, which specify the samples in terms of modules of co-expressed genes of different functional context. We identified two major blood transcriptome types where type 1 was found more in men, the elderly, and overweight people and it upregulated genes associated with inflammation and increased heme metabolism, while type 2 was predominantly found in women, younger, and normal weight participants and it was associated with activated immune responses, transcriptional, ribosomal, mitochondrial, and telomere-maintenance cell-functions. We find a striking overlap of signatures shared by multiple diseases, aging, and obesity driven by an underlying common pattern, which was associated with the immune response and the increase of inflammatory processes.

Conclusions: Machine learning applications for large and heterogeneous omics data provide a holistic view on the diversity of the human blood transcriptome. It provides a tool for comparative analyses of transcriptional signatures and of associated phenotypes in population studies and medical applications.

Assessing the Relationship Between Leukocyte Telomere Length and Cancer Risk/Mortality in UK Biobank and TCGA Datasets With the Genetic Risk Score and Mendelian Randomization Approaches

Background

Telomere length is an important indicator of tumor progression and survival for cancer patients. Previous work investigated the associations between genetically predicted telomere length and cancers; however, the types of cancers investigated in those studies were relatively limited or the telomere length-associated genetic variants employed often came from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) with small sample sizes.

Methods

We constructed the genetic risk score (GRS) for leukocyte telomere length based on 17 associated genetic variants available from the largest telomere length GWAS up to 78,592 individuals. Then, a comprehensive analysis was undertaken to evaluate the association between the constructed GRS and the risk or mortality of a wide range of cancers [i.e., 37 cancers in the UK Biobank and 33 cancers in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)]. We further applied the two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to estimate the causal effect of leukocyte telomere length on UK Biobank cancers via summary statistics.

Results

In the UK Biobank dataset, we found that the GRS of leukocyte telomere length was associated with a decreased risk of nine types of cancer (i.e., significant association with multiple myeloma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, kidney/renal cell cancer, bladder cancer, malignant melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and prostate cancer and suggestive association with sarcoma/fibrosarcoma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma/Hodgkin’s disease). In addition, we found that the GRS was suggestively associated with an increased risk of leukemia. In the TCGA dataset, we observed suggestive evidence that the GRS was associated with a high death hazard of rectum adenocarcinoma (READ), sarcoma (SARC), and skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM), while the GRS was associated with a low death hazard of kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma (KIRP). The results of MR further supported the association for leukocyte telomere length on the risk of malignant melanoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma/Hodgkin’s disease, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma.

Conclusion

Our study reveals that telomere played diverse roles in different types of cancers. However, further validations in large-scale prospective studies and deeper investigations of the biologic mechanisms are warranted.

Telomerase inhibition, telomere attrition and proliferation arrest of cancer cells induced by phosphorothioate ASO-NLS conjugates targeting hTERC and siRNAs targeting hTERT

Telomerase activity has been regarded as a critical step in cellular immortalization and carcinogenesis and because of this, regulation of telomerase represents an attractive target for anti-tumor specific therapeutics. Recently, one avenue of cancer research focuses on antisense strategy to target the oncogenes or cancer driver genes, in a sequence specific fashion to down-regulate the expression of the target gene. The protein catalytic subunit, human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and the template RNA component (hTERC) are essential for telomerase function, thus theoretically, inhibition of telomerase activity can be achieved by interfering with either the gene expression of hTERT or the hTERC of the telomerase enzymatic complex. The present study showed that phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotide (sASO)-nuclear localization signal (NLS) peptide conjugates targeting hTERC could inhibit telomerase activity very efficiently at 5 μM concentration but less efficiently at 1 μM concentration. On the other hand, siRNA targeting hTERT mRNA could strongly suppress hTERT expression at 200 nM concentration. It was also revealed that siRNA targeting hTERT could induce telomere attrition and then irreversible arrest of proliferation of cancer cells.

Common genetic variation and risk of osteosarcoma in a multi-ethnic pediatric and adolescent population

Osteosarcoma, a malignant primary bone tumor most commonly diagnosed in children and adolescents, has a poorly understood genetic etiology. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and candidate-gene analyses have identified putative risk variants in subjects of European ancestry. However, despite higher incidence among African-American and Hispanic children, little is known regarding common heritable variation that contributes to osteosarcoma incidence and clinical presentation across racial/ethnic groups. In a multi-ethnic sample of non-Hispanic white, Hispanic, African-American and Asian/Pacific Islander children (537 cases, 2165 controls), we performed association analyses assessing previously-reported loci for osteosarcoma risk and metastasis, including meta-analysis across racial/ethnic groups. We also assessed a previously described association between genetic predisposition to longer leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and osteosarcoma risk in this independent multi-ethnic dataset. In our sample, we were unable to replicate previously-reported loci for osteosarcoma risk or metastasis detected in GWAS of European-ancestry individuals in either ethnicity-stratified analyses or meta-analysis across ethnic groups. Our analyses did confirm that genetic predisposition to longer LTL is a risk factor for osteosarcoma (ORmeta: 1.22; 95% CI: 1.09-1.36; P = 3.8 × 10-4), and the strongest effect was seen in Hispanic subjects (OR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.12-1.54, P = 6.2 × 10-4). Our findings shed light on the replicability of osteosarcoma risk loci across ethnicities and motivate further characterization of these genetic factors in diverse clinical cohorts.

New Insights for Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Aging-Related Diseases: Herbal Medicine as Potential Therapeutic Approach

Aging is a progressive disease affecting around 900 million people worldwide, and in recent years, the mechanism of aging and aging-related diseases has been well studied. Treatments for aging-related diseases have also made progress. For the long-term treatment of aging-related diseases, herbal medicine is particularly suitable for drug discovery. In this review, we discuss cellular and molecular mechanisms of aging and aging-related diseases, including oxidative stress, inflammatory response, autophagy and exosome interactions, mitochondrial injury, and telomerase damage, and summarize commonly used herbals and compounds concerned with the development of aging-related diseases, including Ginkgo biloba, ginseng, Panax notoginseng, Radix astragali, Lycium barbarum, Rhodiola rosea, Angelica sinensis, Ligusticum chuanxiong, resveratrol, curcumin, and flavonoids. We also summarize key randomized controlled trials of herbal medicine for aging-related diseases during the past ten years. Adverse reactions of herbs were also described. It is expected to provide new insights for slowing aging and treating aging-related diseases with herbal medicine.

Cholest-4,6-Dien-3-One Promote Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in Biliary Tree Stem/Progenitor Cell Cultures In Vitro

Human biliary tree stem/progenitor cells (hBTSCs), reside in peribiliary glands, are mainly stimulated by primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and cholangiocarcinoma. In these pathologies, hBTSCs displayed epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), senescence characteristics, and impaired differentiation. Here, we investigated the effects of cholest-4,6-dien-3-one, an oxysterol involved in cholangiopathies, on hBTSCs biology. hBTSCs were isolated from donor organs, cultured in self-renewal control conditions, differentiated in mature cholangiocytes by specifically tailored medium, or exposed for 10 days to concentration of cholest-4,6-dien-3-one (0.14 mM). Viability, proliferation, senescence, EMT genes expression, telomerase activity, interleukin 6 (IL6) secretion, differentiation capacity, and HDAC6 gene expression were analyzed. Although the effect of cholest-4,6-dien-3-one was not detected on hBTSCs viability, we found a significant increase in cell proliferation, senescence, and IL6 secretion. Interestingly, cholest-4.6-dien-3-one impaired differentiation in mature cholangiocytes and, simultaneously, induced the EMT markers, significantly reduced the telomerase activity, and induced HDAC6 gene expression. Moreover, cholest-4,6-dien-3-one enhanced bone morphogenic protein 4 (Bmp-4) and sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathways in hBTSCs. The same pathways activated by human recombinant proteins induced the expression of EMT markers in hBTSCs. In conclusion, we demonstrated that chronic exposition of cholest-4,6-dien-3-one induced cell proliferation, EMT markers, and senescence in hBTSC, and also impaired the differentiation in mature cholangiocytes.

Biomarkers for vascular ageing in aorta tissues and blood samples

OBJECTIVES

Functional and quantitative alterations and senescence of circulating and expanded endothelial progenitor cells (EPC), as well as systemic and tissue modifications of angiogenetic and inflammatory molecules, were evaluated for predicting age-related vessel wall remodeling, correlating them to intima media thickness (IMT) in the common carotid artery (CCA), a biomarker of early cardiovascular disease and aortic root dilation.

POPULATIONS AND METHODS

A homogenous Caucasian population was included in the study, constituted by 160 healthy subjects (80 old subjects, mean age 72 ± 6.4, range 66-83 years; and 80 younger blood donors, mean age 26.2 ± 3.4, range 21-33 years), and 60 old subjects (mean age 73 ± 1.4 (range 66-83) years) with aortic root dilatation and hypertension, and 60 old people (70 ± 2.8 (age range 66-83)) with sporadic ascending aorta aneurysm (AAA). In addition, 20 control individuals (10 men and 10 women, mean age: 65 ± 8), were also included in the study for evaluating the gene expression's levels, in aorta tissues. Appropriate techniques, practises, protocols, gating strategies and statistical analyses were performed in our evaluations.

RESULTS

Interestingly, old people had a significantly reduced functionality and a high grade of senescence (high SA-β-Gal activity and high levels of TP53, p21 and p16 genes) of EPC expanded than younger subjects. The values of related parameters progressively augmented from the old subjects, in good healthy shape, to subjects with hypertension and aorta dilation, and AAA. Moreover, they significantly impacted the endothelium than the alterations in EPC number. No changes, but rather increased systemic levels of VEGF and SDF-1 were also assessed in old people vs. younger donors. Old people also showed significantly increased systemic levels of inflammatory cytokines, and a reciprocal significant reduction of systemic s-Notch 1 than younger subjects. These parameters, also including the number EPC alterations, resulted to be significantly sustained in old people bearers of an inflammatory combined genotype. Consistent with these data, a reduced expression of Notch-1 gene, accompanied by a sustained expression of inflammatory genes (i.e. TLR4, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-17) were detected in aortic tissues from old control people and AAA cases. Finally, we detected the biological effects induced by all the detected alterations on vessel wall age-related remodeling, by evaluating the IMT in the population studied and correlating it to these alterations. The analysis demonstrated that the unique independent risk predictors for vascular ageing are age, the EPC reduced migratory activity and senescence, high grade of expression of genes inducing EPC senescence and chronic tissue and systemic inflammation.

CONCLUSIONS

Thus, we propose these parameters, of easy determination in biological samples (i.e. blood and tissue samples) from alive human population, as optimal biomarkers for vascular ageing.

Identification of Aberrantly Expressed Genes during Aging in Rat Nucleus Pulposus Cells

Nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) play a vital role in maintaining the homeostasis of the intervertebral disc (IVD). Previous studies have discovered that NPCs exhibited malfunction due to cellular senescence during disc aging and degeneration; this might be one of the key factors of IVD degeneration. Thus, we conducted this study in order to investigate the altered biofunction and the underlying genes and pathways of senescent NPCs. We isolated and identified NPCs from the tail discs of young (2 months) and old (24 months) SD rats and confirmed the senescent phenotype through SA-β-gal staining. CCK-8 assay, transwell assay, and cell scratch assay were adopted to detect the proliferous and migratory ability of two groups. Then, a rat Gene Chip Clariom™ S array was used to detect differentially expressed genes (DEGs). After rigorous bioinformatics analysis of the raw data, totally, 1038 differentially expressed genes with a fold change > 1.5 were identified out of 23189 probes. Among them, 617 were upregulated and 421 were downregulated. Furthermore, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were conducted and revealed numerous number of enriched GO terms and signaling pathways associated with senescence of NPCs. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of the DEGs was constructed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) database and Cytoscape software. Module analysis was conducted for the PPI network using the MCODE plugin in Cytoscape. Hub genes were identified by the CytoHubba plugin in Cytoscape. Derived 5 hub genes and most significantly up- or downregulated genes were further verified by real-time PCR. The present study investigated underlying mechanisms in the senescence of NPCs on a genome-wide scale. The illumination of molecular mechanisms of NPCs senescence may assist the development of novel biological methods to treat degenerative disc diseases.

Short telomeres correlate with a strong induction of cellular senescence in human dental follicle cells

BACKGROUND

Dental follicle cells (DFCs) are dental stem cells and interesting options for regenerative therapies in dentistry. However, DFCs acquire replicative senescence in long-term cultures, but little is known about molecular processes. In previous studies, we observed that DFC cell lines become senescent at different rates. We hypothesized that short telomere length and increased DNA damage with genomic instability correlate with the accelerated induction of cellular senescence.

RESULTS

For this study we compared DFC cell lines that became senescent at different rates (DFC_F: strong senescent phenotype; DFC_S: weak senescent phenotype). The telomeres of DFC_F were shorter than those of the telomeres of DFC_S prior senescence. Interestingly, telomere lengths of both cell lines were nearly unchanged after induction of senescence. Gene expression analyses with genes associated with DNA damage before and after the induction of cellular senescence revealed that almost all genes in DFCs_F were down-regulated while the gene expression in DFC_S was almost constitutive. Moreover, number of aneuploid DFC_F were significantly higher after induction of cellular senescence.

CONCLUSION

Our results supported our initial hypothesis that telomere length and genomic instability correlate with the accelerated induction of cellular senescence in DFC_F.

Cellular Senescence: Aging, Cancer, and Injury

Cellular senescence is a permanent state of cell cycle arrest that occurs in proliferating cells subjected to different stresses. Senescence is, therefore, a cellular defense mechanism that prevents the cells to acquire an unnecessary damage. The senescent state is accompanied by a failure to re-enter the cell cycle in response to mitogenic stimuli, an enhanced secretory phenotype and resistance to cell death. Senescence takes place in several tissues during different physiological and pathological processes such as tissue remodeling, injury, cancer, and aging. Although senescence is one of the causative processes of aging and it is responsible of aging-related disorders, senescent cells can also play a positive role. In embryogenesis and tissue remodeling, senescent cells are required for the proper development of the embryo and tissue repair. In cancer, senescence works as a potent barrier to prevent tumorigenesis. Therefore, the identification and characterization of key features of senescence, the induction of senescence in cancer cells, or the elimination of senescent cells by pharmacological interventions in aging tissues is gaining consideration in several fields of research. Here, we describe the known key features of senescence, the cell-autonomous, and noncell-autonomous regulators of senescence, and we attempt to discuss the functional role of this fundamental process in different contexts in light of the development of novel therapeutic targets.

Cellular senescence in dental pulp stem cells

OBJECTIVE

This short review summarizes our current knowledge about dental stem cell aging and about possible targets for the regulation of cellular senescence.

DESIGN

A literature search was performed using a combination of keywords, e.g., stem cells, replicative senescence, differentiation potential, dental pulp, dental follicle and periodontal ligament.

RESULTS

Previous studies have shown that cellular senescence occurs while the proliferation of dental stem cells. Moreover, the differentiation potential was significantly decreased in senescent stem cells and senescent cells secrete also factors that are harmful to the adjacent tissue cells. Moreover, many targets for the regulation of cellular senescence are considered; for example pathways related to the nutrient sensing such as the 5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

The regulation of cellular senescence will play a crucial role in the clinical use of stem cells. However, there is no cell culture protocol available that prevents dental stem cell senescence. Therefore, more knowledge about molecular processes in stem cells is needed before and after the induction of senescence.

Epigenetic Regulation of Skin Cells in Natural Aging and Premature Aging Diseases

Skin undergoes continuous renewal throughout an individual’s lifetime relying on stem cell functionality. However, a decline of the skin regenerative potential occurs with age. The accumulation of senescent cells over time probably reduces tissue regeneration and contributes to skin aging. Keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts undergo senescence in response to several intrinsic or extrinsic stresses, including telomere shortening, overproduction of reactive oxygen species, diet, and sunlight exposure. Epigenetic mechanisms directly regulate skin homeostasis and regeneration, but they also mark cell senescence and the natural and pathological aging processes. Progeroid syndromes represent a group of clinical and genetically heterogeneous pathologies characterized by the accelerated aging of various tissues and organs, including skin. Skin cells from progeroid patients display molecular hallmarks that mimic those associated with naturally occurring aging. Thus, investigations on progeroid syndromes strongly contribute to disclose the causal mechanisms that underlie the aging process. In the present review, we discuss the role of epigenetic pathways in skin cell regulation during physiologic and premature aging.

A study of telomere length, arsenic exposure, and arsenic toxicity in a Bangladeshi cohort

BACKGROUND

Chronic arsenic exposure is associated with increased risk for arsenical skin lesions, cancer, and other adverse health outcomes. One potential mechanism of arsenic toxicity is telomere dysfunction. However, prior epidemiological studies of arsenic exposure, telomere length (TL), and skin lesion are small and cross-sectional. We investigated the associations between arsenic exposure and TL and between baseline TL and incident skin lesion risk among individuals participating in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study in Bangladesh (2000-2009).

METHODS

Quantitative PCR was used to measure the average TL of peripheral blood DNA collected at baseline. The association between baseline arsenic exposure (well water and urine) and TL was estimated in a randomly-selected subcohort (n = 1469). A nested case-control study (466 cases and 464 age- and sex-matched controls) was used to estimate the association between baseline TL and incident skin lesion risk (diagnosed < 8 years after baseline).

RESULTS

No association was observed between arsenic exposure (water or urine) and TL. Among incident skin lesion cases and matched controls, we observed higher skin lesion risk among individuals with shorter TL (P_trend = 1.5 × 10^-5) with odds ratios of 2.60, 1.59, and 1.10 for the first (shortest), second, and third TL quartiles compared to the fourth (longest).

CONCLUSIONS

Arsenic exposure was not associated with TL among Bangladeshi adults, suggesting that leukocyte TL may not reflect a primary mode of action for arsenic's toxicity. However, short TL was associated with increased skin lesion risk, and may be a biomarker of arsenic susceptibility modifying arsenic's effect on skin lesion risk.

Leukocyte telomere length in relation to risk of lung adenocarcinoma incidence: Findings from the Singapore Chinese Health Study

Telomeres are crucial in the maintenance of chromosome integrity and genomic stability. Critically short telomeres can trigger programed cell death while cells with longer telomeres may have increased likelihood of replicative errors, resulting in genetic mutations and chromosomal alterations, and ultimately promoting oncogenesis. Data on telomere length and lung cancer risk from large prospective cohort studies are spare. Relative telomere length in peripheral blood leukocytes was quantified using a validated monochrome multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method in 26,540 participants of the Singapore Chinese Health Study. After a follow-up of 12 years, 654 participants developed lung cancer including 288 adenocarcinoma, 113 squamous cell carcinoma and 253 other/unknown histological type. The Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). HR of lung adenocarcinoma for individuals in the highest comparing the lowest 20 percentile of telomere length was 2.84 (95% CI 1.94-4.14, p_trend  < 0.0001). This positive association was present in never smokers (p_trend  < 0.0001), ever smokers (p_trend  = 0.0010), men (p_trend  = 0.0003), women (p_trend  < 0.0001), and in shorter (p_trend  = 0.0002) and longer (p_trend  = 0.0001) duration of follow-up. There was no association between telomere length and risk of squamous cell carcinoma or other histological type of lung cancer in all or subgroups of individuals. The agreement of results from this prospective cohort study with those of previous prospective studies and Mendelian randomization studies suggest a possible etiological role of telomere length in the development of lung adenocarcinoma.

Genome-wide association study of telomere length among South Asians identifies a second RTEL1 association signal

Background

Leucocyte telomere length (TL) is a potential biomarker of ageing and risk for age-related disease. Leucocyte TL is heritable and shows substantial differences by race/ethnicity. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) report ~10 loci harbouring SNPs associated with leucocyte TL, but these studies focus primarily on populations of European ancestry.

Objective

This study aims to enhance our understanding of genetic determinants of TL across populations.

Methods

We performed a GWAS of TL using data on 5075 Bangladeshi adults. We measured TL using one of two technologies (qPCR or a Luminex-based method) and used standardised variables as TL phenotypes.

Results

Our results replicate previously reported associations in the TERC and TERT regions (P=2.2×10⁻⁸ and P=6.4×10⁻⁶, respectively). We observed a novel association signal in the RTEL1 gene (intronic SNP rs2297439; P=2.82×10⁻⁷) that is independent of previously reported TL-associated SNPs in this region. The minor allele for rs2297439 is common in South Asian populations (≥0.25) but at lower frequencies in other populations (eg, 0.07 in Northern Europeans). Among the eight other previously reported association signals, all were directionally consistent with our study, but only rs8105767 (ZNF208) was nominally significant (P=0.003). SNP-based heritability estimates were as high as 44% when analysing close relatives but much lower when analysing distant relatives only.

Conclusions

In this first GWAS of TL in a South Asian population, we replicate some, but not all, of the loci reported in prior GWAS of individuals of European ancestry, and we identify a novel second association signal at the RTEL1 locus.

High-magnitude compression accelerates the premature senescence of nucleus pulposus cells via the p38 MAPK-ROS pathway

BACKGROUND

Mechanical overloading can lead to disc degeneration. Nucleus pulposus (NP) cell senescence is aggravated within the degenerated disc. This study was designed to investigate the effects of high compression on NP cell senescence and the underlying molecular mechanism of this process.

METHODS

Rat NP cells seeded in decalcified bone matrix were subjected to non-compression (control) or compression (2% or 20% deformation, 1.0 Hz, 6 hours/day). The reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 were used to investigate the roles of the ROS and p38 MAPK pathway under high-magnitude compression. Additionally, we studied the effects of compression (0.1 or 1.3 MPa, 1.0 Hz, 6 hours/day) in a rat disc organ culture.

RESULTS

Both in scaffold and organ cultures, high-magnitude compression (20% deformation or 1.3 MPa) increased senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) activity, senescence marker (p16 and p53) expression, G1 cell cycle arrest, and ROS generation, and decreased cell proliferation, telomerase activity and matrix (aggrecan and collagen II) synthesis. Further analysis of the 20% deformation group showed that NAC inhibited NP cell senescence but had no obvious effect on phospho-p38 MAPK expression and that SB203580 significantly attenuated ROS generation and NP cell senescence.

CONCLUSIONS

High-magnitude compression can accelerate NP cell senescence through the p38 MAPK-ROS pathway.

Markers of T Cell Senescence in Humans

Many countries are facing the aging of their population, and many more will face a similar obstacle in the near future, which could be a burden to many healthcare systems. Increased susceptibility to infections, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease, cancer as well as reduced efficacy of vaccination are important matters for researchers in the field of aging. As older adults show higher prevalence for a variety of diseases, this also implies higher risk of complications, including nosocomial infections, slower recovery and sequels that may reduce the autonomy and overall quality of life of older adults. The age-related effects on the immune system termed as "immunosenescence" can be exemplified by the reported hypo-responsiveness to influenza vaccination of the elderly. T cells, which belong to the adaptive arm of the immune system, have been extensively studied and the knowledge gathered enables a better understanding of how the immune system may be affected after acute/chronic infections and how this matters in the long run. In this review, we will focus on T cells and discuss the surface and molecular markers that are associated with T cell senescence. We will also look at the implications that senescent T cells could have on human health and diseases. Finally, we will discuss the benefits of having these markers for investigators and the future work that is needed to advance the field of T cell senescence markers.

The cell cycle regulator protein P16 and the cellular senescence of dental follicle cells

Cellular senescence is a restricting factor for regenerative therapies with somatic stem cells. We showed previously that the onset of cellular senescence inhibits the osteogenic differentiation in stem cells of the dental follicle (DFCs), although the mechanism remains elusive. Two different pathways are involved in the induction of the cellular senescence, which are driven either by the cell cycle protein P21 or by the cell cycle protein P16. In this study, we investigated the expression of cell cycle proteins in DFCs after the induction of cellular senescence. The induction of cellular senescence was proved by an increased expression of β-galactosidase and an increased population doubling time after a prolonged cell culture. Cellular senescence regulated the expression of cell cycle proteins. The expression of cell cycle protein P16 was up-regulated, which correlates with the induction of cellular senescence markers in DFCs. However, the expression of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK)2 and 4 and the expression of the cell cycle protein P21 were successively decreased in DFCs. In conclusion, our data suggest that a P16-dependent pathway drives the induction of cellular senescence in DFCs.

Senescence-Associated MicroRNAs

Senescent cells arise as a consequence of cellular damage and can have either a detrimental or advantageous impact on tissues and organs depending on the specific cell type and metabolic state. As senescent cells accumulate in tissues with advancing age, they have been implicated in many age-related declines and diseases. The major facets of senescence include two pathways responsible for establishing and maintaining a senescence program, p53/CDKN1A(p21) and CDKN2A(p16)/RB, as well as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. Numerous MicroRNAs influence senescence by modulating the abundance of key senescence regulatory proteins, generally by lowering the stability and/or translation of mRNAs that encode such factors. Accordingly, understanding the molecular mechanisms by which MicroRNAs influence senescence will enable diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities directed at senescent cells. Here, we review senescence-associated (SA)-MicroRNAs and discuss their implications in senescence-relevant pathologies.

Redox control of senescence and age-related disease

The signaling networks that drive the aging process, associated functional deterioration, and pathologies has captured the scientific community's attention for decades. While many theories exist to explain the aging process, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) provides a signaling link between engagement of cellular senescence and several age-associated pathologies. Cellular senescence has evolved to restrict tumor progression but the accompanying senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) promotes pathogenic pathways. Here, we review known biological theories of aging and how ROS mechanistically control senescence and the aging process. We also describe the redox-regulated signaling networks controlling the SASP and its important role in driving age-related diseases. Finally, we discuss progress in designing therapeutic strategies that manipulate the cellular redox environment to restrict age-associated pathology.

Genetic alterations and epigenetic alterations of cancer-associated fibroblasts

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are one major type of component identified in the tumor microenvironment. Studies have focused on the genetic and epigenetic status of CAFs, since they are critical in tumor progression and differ phenotypically and functionally from normal fibroblasts. The present review summarizes the recent achievements in understanding the gene profiles of CAFs and pays special attention to their possible epigenetic alterations. A total of 7 possible genetic alterations and epigenetic changes in CAFs are discussed, including gene differential expression, karyotype analysis, gene copy number variation, loss of heterozygosis, allelic imbalance, microsatellite instability, post-transcriptional control and DNA methylation. These genetic and epigenetic characteristics are hypothesized to provide a deep understanding of CAFs and a perspective on their clinical significance.

2-Methoxyestradiol: A Hormonal Metabolite Modulates Stimulated T-Cells Function and proliferation

BACKGROUND

2-Methoxyestradiol (2ME2) is an endogenous metabolite of estrogen that is nonestrogenic and has been studied in cancer as an antimitotic agent that is beneficial by its selectivity for cancer cells without toxicity to nonmalignant cells. Because the effect of 2ME2 in a transplant rejection setting remains unknown, we hypothesized that 2ME2 can inhibit stimulated T-cell function.

METHODS

Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were cultured and pretreated with 2ME2 before stimulation. The cultured medium was collected for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and whole-cell lysates were collected for Western immunoblotting. Proliferation and apoptosis assays were performed and analyzed by means of flow cytometry.

RESULTS

Tumor necrosis factor -α and interferon-γ cytokine production in 2ME2-treated stimulated PBMCs were modestly reduced relative to control samples. T-cell proliferation was blunted by treatment with 2ME2, and a decrease in apoptosis correlated with a decrease in caspase-9 activity. Additionally, 2ME2 was able to block stress-induced senescence caused by stimulation of T-cells.

CONCLUSIONS

2ME2 is a hormone-based therapy that blunts stimulated T-cell proliferation and does not induce apoptosis or stress-induced senescence. Stimulated T-cells treated with 2ME2 are still able to produce normal levels of cytokines. Therefore, 2ME2 may lead to an oral immunomodulatory adjunct therapy with a low side effect profile for individuals undergoing transplantation.

A Natural Product Telomerase Activator Lengthens Telomeres in Humans: A Randomized, Double Blind, and Placebo Controlled Study

TA-65 is a dietary supplement based on an improved formulation of a small molecule telomerase activator that was discovered in a systematic screening of natural product extracts from traditional Chinese medicines. This study summarizes the findings on telomere length (TL) changes from a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study of TA-65 over a 1 year period. The study was conducted on 117 relatively healthy cytomegalovirus-positive subjects aged 53–87 years old. Subjects taking the low dose of TA-65 (250 U) significantly increased TL over the 12 months period (530 ± 180 bp; p = 0.005), whereas subjects in the placebo group significantly lost TL (290 ± 100 bp; p = 0.01). The high dose of TA-65 (1000 U) showed a trend of improvements in TL compared with that of the placebo group; however, the improvements did not reach statistical significance. TL changes in the low-dose group were similar for both median and 20th percentile TLs. The findings suggest that TA-65 can lengthen telomeres in a statistically and possibly clinically significant manner.

Aging and age related stresses: a senescence mechanism of intervertebral disc degeneration

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a complicated process that involves both age-related change and tissue damage caused by multiple stresses. In a degenerative IVD, cellular senescence accumulates and is associated with reduced proliferation, compromised self-repair, increased inflammatory response, and enhanced catabolic metabolism. In this review, we decipher the senescence mechanism of IVD degeneration (IVDD) by interpreting how aging coordinates with age-related, microenvironment-derived stresses in promoting disc cell senescence and accelerating IVDD. After chronic and prolonged replication, cell senescence may occur as a natural part of the disc aging process, but can potentially be accelerated by growth factor deficiency, oxidative accumulation, and inflammatory irritation. While acute disc injury, excessive mechanical overloading, diabetes, and chronic tobacco smoking contribute to the amplification of senescence-inducing stresses, the avascular nature of IVD impairs the immune-clearance of the senescent disc cells, which accumulate in cell clusters, demonstrate inflammatory and catabolic phenotypes, deteriorate disc microenvironment, and accelerate IVDD. Anti-senescence strategies, including telomerase transduction, supply of growth factors, and blocking cell cycle inhibitors, have been shown to be feasible in rescuing disc cells from early senescence, but their efficiency for disc regeneration requires more in vivo validations. Guidelines dedicated to avoiding or alleviating senescence-inducing stresses might decelerate cellular senescence and benefit patients with IVD degenerative diseases.

Cellular Senescence as the Causal Nexus of Aging

In this paper we present cellular senescence as the ultimate driver of the aging process, as a "causal nexus" that bridges microscopic subcellular damage with the phenotypic, macroscopic effect of aging. It is important to understand how the various types of subcellular damage correlated with the aging process lead to the larger, visible effects of anatomical aging. While it has always been assumed that subcellular damage (cause) results in macroscopic aging (effect), the bridging link between the two has been hard to define. Here, we propose that this bridge, which we term the "causal nexus", is in fact cellular senescence. The subcellular damage itself does not directly cause the visible signs of aging, but rather, as the damage accumulates and reaches a critical mass, cells cease to proliferate and acquire the deleterious "senescence-associated secretory phenotype" (SASP) which then leads to the macroscopic consequences of tissue breakdown to create the physiologically aged phenotype. Thus senescence is a precondition for anatomical aging, and this explains why aging is a gradual process that remains largely invisible during most of its progression. The subcellular damage includes shortening of telomeres, damage to mitochondria, aneuploidy, and DNA double-strand breaks triggered by various genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. Damage pathways acting in isolation or in concert converge at the causal nexus of cellular senescence. In each species some types of damage can be more causative than in others and operate at a variable pace; for example, telomere erosion appears to be a primary cause in human cells, whereas activation of tumor suppressor genes is more causative in rodents. Such species-specific mechanisms indicate that despite different initial causes, most of aging is traced to a single convergent causal nexus: senescence. The exception is in some invertebrate species that escape senescence, and in non-dividing cells such as neurons, where senescence still occurs, but results in the SASP rather than loss of proliferation plus SASP. Aging currently remains an inevitable endpoint for most biological organisms, but the field of cellular senescence is primed for a renaissance and as our understanding of aging is refined, strategies capable of decelerating the aging process will emerge.

Associations of metabolic, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers with total morbidity and multi-morbidity in a large cohort of older German adults

BACKGROUND

imbalances in metabolic, inflammatory and redox homeostasis play an important role in the leading theories of age-related morbidity, but no large-scale epidemiological study has been conducted so far assessing their associations with total morbidity and multi-morbidity in the same model.

METHODS

analyses were conducted in 2,547 participants of an established population-based cohort study from Germany. The participants' median age was 70 years (range: 57-84) and 51.9% were women. End points were total somatic morbidity and multi-morbidity, assessed by the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale-Geriatric version.

RESULTS

overall, 251 study participants had multi-morbidity (9.9%). Except for the redox marker 'total thiol levels of proteins', all other assessed metabolic (obesity, diabetes, dyslipidaemia and hypertension), inflammatory (C-reactive protein) and oxidative stress markers (derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites) were significantly associated with total somatic morbidity and multi-morbidity if assessed individually. If modelled jointly, effect estimates were attenuated but remained statistically significant for the outcome 'total morbidity' and for low weight, obesity, insufficiently controlled diabetes and derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites with respect to the outcome 'multi-morbidity'.

CONCLUSIONS

results from this large sample of older adults support hypotheses that relate imbalances in metabolic, inflammatory and redox homeostasis to age-related morbidity. Despite over adjustment for closely related metabolic, inflammatory and oxidative stress conditions in the full model, independent associations of the markers with total morbidity and/or multi-morbidity were observed. Therefore, adverse metabolic, inflammatory and oxidative stress conditions may all play important roles in the pathogenesis of age-related morbidity, which should be investigated further in future longitudinal studies.

Evidence for the free radical/oxidative stress theory of ageing from the CHANCES consortium: a meta-analysis of individual participant data

BACKGROUND

The free radical/oxidative stress theory of ageing has received considerable attention, but the evidence on the association of oxidative stress markers with mortality is sparse.

METHODS

We measured derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolite (D-ROM) levels as a proxy for the reactive oxygen species concentration and total thiol levels (TTL) as a proxy for the redox control status in 10,622 men and women (age range, 45-85 years), from population-based cohorts from Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, and Lithuania, of whom 1,702 died during follow-up.

RESULTS

Both oxidative stress markers were significantly associated with all-cause mortality independently from established risk factors (including inflammation) and from each other in all cohorts. Regarding cause-specific mortality, compared to low D-ROM levels (≤ 340 Carr U), very high D-ROM levels (>500 Carr U) were strongly associated with both cardiovascular (relative risk (RR), 5.09; 95 % CI, 2.67-9.69) and cancer mortality (RR, 4.34; 95 % CI, 2.31-8.16). TTL was only associated with CVD mortality (RR, 1.30; 95 % CI, 1.15-1.48, for one-standard-deviation-decrease). The strength of the association of TTL with CVD mortality increased with age of the participants (RR for one-standard-deviation-decrease in those aged 70-85 years was 1.65; 95 % CI, 1.22-2.24).

CONCLUSIONS

In these four population-based cohort studies from Central and Eastern Europe, the oxidative stress serum markers D-ROM and TTL were independently and strongly associated with all-cause and CVD mortality. In addition, D-ROM levels were also strongly associated with cancer mortality. This study provides epidemiological evidence supporting the free radical/oxidative stress theory of ageing and suggests that d-ROMs and TTL are useful oxidative stress markers associated with premature mortality.

Genetic determinants of telomere length and risk of common cancers: a Mendelian randomization study

Epidemiological studies have reported inconsistent associations between telomere length (TL) and risk for various cancers. These inconsistencies are likely attributable, in part, to biases that arise due to post-diagnostic and post-treatment TL measurement. To avoid such biases, we used a Mendelian randomization approach and estimated associations between nine TL-associated SNPs and risk for five common cancer types (breast, lung, colorectal, ovarian and prostate cancer, including subtypes) using data on 51 725 cases and 62 035 controls. We then used an inverse-variance weighted average of the SNP-specific associations to estimate the association between a genetic score representing long TL and cancer risk. The long TL genetic score was significantly associated with increased risk of lung adenocarcinoma (P = 6.3 × 10(-15)), even after exclusion of a SNP residing in a known lung cancer susceptibility region (TERT-CLPTM1L) P = 6.6 × 10(-6)). Under Mendelian randomization assumptions, the association estimate [odds ratio (OR) = 2.78] is interpreted as the OR for lung adenocarcinoma corresponding to a 1000 bp increase in TL. The weighted TL SNP score was not associated with other cancer types or subtypes. Our finding that genetic determinants of long TL increase lung adenocarcinoma risk avoids issues with reverse causality and residual confounding that arise in observational studies of TL and disease risk. Under Mendelian randomization assumptions, our finding suggests that longer TL increases lung adenocarcinoma risk. However, caution regarding this causal interpretation is warranted in light of the potential issue of pleiotropy, and a more general interpretation is that SNPs influencing telomere biology are also implicated in lung adenocarcinoma risk.

Tissue formation and tissue engineering through host cell recruitment or a potential injectable cell-based biocomposite with replicative potential: Molecular mechanisms controlling cellular senescence and the involvement of controlled transient telomerase activation therapies

Accumulated data indicate that wound-care products should have a composition equivalent to that of the skin: a combination of particular growth factors and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins endogenous to the skin, together with viable epithelial cells, fibroblasts, and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Strategies consisting of bioengineered dressings and cell-based products have emerged for widespread clinical use; however, their performance is not optimal because chronic wounds persist as a serious unmet medical need. Telomerase, the ribonucleoprotein complex that adds telomeric repeats to the ends of chromosomes, is responsible for telomere maintenance, and its expression is associated with cell immortalization and, in certain cases, cancerogenesis. Telomerase contains a catalytic subunit, the telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). Introduction of TERT into human cells extends both their lifespan and their telomeres to lengths typical of young cells. The regulation of TERT involves transcriptional and posttranscriptional molecular biology mechanisms. The manipulation, regulation of telomerase is multifactorial in mammalian cells, involving overall telomerase gene expression, post-translational protein-protein interactions, and protein phosphorylation. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in aging, apoptosis, and necrosis of cells in numerous diseases. Upon production of high levels of ROS from exogenous or endogenous generators, the redox balance is perturbed and cells are shifted into a state of oxidative stress, which subsequently leads to modifications of intracellular proteins and membrane lipid peroxidation and to direct DNA damage. When the oxidative stress is severe, survival of the cell is dependent on the repair or replacement of damaged molecules, which can result in induction of apoptosis in the injured with ROS cells. ROS-mediated oxidative stress induces the depletion of hTERT from the nucleus via export through the nuclear pores. Nuclear export is initiated by ROS-induced phosphorylation of tyrosine 707 within hTERT by the Src kinase family. It might be presumed that protection of mitochondria against oxidative stress is an important telomere length-independent function for telomerase in cell survival. Biotechnology companies are focused on development of therapeutic telomerase vaccines, telomerase inhibitors, and telomerase promoter-driven cell killing in oncology, have a telomerase antagonist in late preclinical studies. Anti-aging medicine-oriented groups have intervened on the market with products working on telomerase activation for a broad range of degenerative diseases in which replicative senescence or telomere dysfunction may play an important role. Since oxidative damage has been shown to shorten telomeres in tissue culture models, the adequate topical, transdermal, or systemic administration of antioxidants (such as, patented ocular administration of 1% N-acetylcarnosine lubricant eye drops in the treatment of cataracts) may be beneficial at preserving telomere lengths and delaying the onset or in treatment of disease in susceptible individuals. Therapeutic strategies toward controlled transient activation of telomerase are targeted to cells and replicative potential in cell-based therapies, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Angelica sinensis polysaccharides inhibit endothelial progenitor cell senescence through the reduction of oxidative stress and activation of the Akt/hTERT pathway

CONTEXT

Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (Apiaceae) polysaccharides (ASP) may play a key role in anti-ischemic activity. However, the anti-atherosclerotic activity and mechanism are unknown.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the protective effects of ASP against ox-LDL-induced senescence of EPCs and explored its underlying molecular mechanisms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Mononuclear cells were isolated from bone marrow (BM) of SD rats and differentiated to EPCs. EPCs were exposed to oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL, 10 µg/mL, 24 h) and incubated with or without high-dose (100 µg/mL, 48 h) or low-dose (20 µg/mL, 48 h) ASP. Another group of EPCs was pre-treated with Wortmannin (100 nM, 45 min), a PI3K/Akt inhibitor. EPC senescence, telomerase activity, and superoxide anion levels were assessed using SA-β-galactosidase staining, telomerase PCR-ELISA analysis, and DHE staining, respectively. The expression of related proteins, including Akt, p-Akt, hTERT, p-hTERT, and gp91phox, were detected using western blot.

RESULTS

EPCs (47.3%) were SA-β-gal positive after treatment by ox-LDL, additionally, ox-LDL significantly increased superoxide anion levels (375% versus 100%), and inhibited telomerase activity (42% versus 100%). However, the pro-senescent effect of ox-LDL was attenuated about three-fold (16.7%), superoxide anion levels were decreased more than two-fold (148%), and telomerase activity was recovered partly (88% versus 42%) in the EPCs when treated with ASP (100 µg/mL). The immunoblotting confirmed that ASP attenuated inhibition of phosphorylation of Akt and hTERT induced by ox-LDL and down-regulated increased the expression of gp91-phox. Moreover, some effects of ASP were partially abrogated in the presence of Wortmannin.

DISCUSSION

Ox-LDL induced senescence of EPCs via inhibition of telomerase activity, which was influenced by oxidative stress and the Akt/hTERT pathway. The inhibition of EPC senescence by ASP could be important for potential therapeutics.

CONCLUSION

Treatment of EPCs with ASP remarkably attenuates the harmful effects of ox-LDL via augmentation of Akt/hTERT phosphorylation and inhibition of oxidative stress.