Project description:Aged hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) display myeloid-biased differentiation and reduced regenerative potential. In this study, we uncover that P-selectin (Selp) marks a subset of aged HSCs with reduced repopulation capacity. This population of HSCs expresses a prominent aging transcriptome. Overexpression of Selp in young HSCs impaired long-term reconstitution potential and repressed erythropoiesis. We show that IL-1β is elevated in aged bone marrow and administration of IL-1β induces expression of Selp and other aging-associated genes in HSCs. Finally, we demonstrate that transplantation of aged HSCs into young recipients restores a young-like transcriptome, specifically by repressing pro-inflammatory pathways, highlighting the important role of the bone marrow microenvironment in HSC aging.
Project description:Quiescent adult muscle stem cells (MuSCs) regenerate skeletal muscle upon injury throughout life. However, aged skeletal muscles fail to maintain stem cell quiescence, leading to declines in MuSC number and functionality. Although autophagy plays an important role in the maintenance of MuSC quiescence, how quiescent MuSCs and their autophagy levels are maintained throughout life is largely unknown. The current study reveals how GnRH, a hypothalamic hormone, maintains the quiescence of adult MuSCs by preventing the onset of senescence and how the decline of sex steroids in organismal ageing is implicated in MuSC ageing.
Project description:Engrams are considered to be substrates for memory storage, and the functional dysregulation of the engrams leads to cognition impairment.However, the cellular basis for these maladaptive changes lead to the forgetting of memories remains unclear. Here we found that the expression of autophagy protein 7 (Atg7) mRNA was dramatically upregulated in aged DG engrams, and led to the forgetting of contextual fear memory and the activation of surrounding microglia.To determine mechanism by which autophagy in DG engrams activates the surrounding microglia, mice were co-injected AAV-RAM-Cre either with AAV-Dio-Atg7-Flag or AAV-Dio- EYFP in dorsal dentate gyrus to overexpress ATG7 in the DG memory engrams. Microglia were separated using magnetic-activated cell sorting and subjected to RNA-Seq in dorsal hippocampus .Bioinformatics analysis shown overexpression of Atg7 in dorsal DG memory engrams caused an increase in the expression of Tlr2 in the surrounding microglia.Depletion of Toll-like receptor 2/4 (TLR2/4) in DG microglia prohibited excessive microglial activation and synapse elimination induced by the overexpression of ATG7 in DG engrams, and thus prevented forgetting. Furthermore, the expression of Rac1, a Rho-GTPases which regulates active forgetting in both fly and mice, was upregulated in aged engrams. Optogentic activation of Rac1 in DG engrams promoted the autophagy of the engrams, the activation of microglia, and the forgetting of fear memory. Invention of the Atg7 expression and microglia activation attenuated forgetting induced by activation of Rac1 in DG engrams. Together, our findings revealed autophagy-dependent synapse elimination of DG engrams by microglia as a novel forgetting mechanism.