Cell rejuvenation atlas unveils master regulators of rejuvenation strategies

Aging-USSep 16 2024

A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science), Volume 16, Issue 17 on September 9, 2024, entitled, "The cell rejuvenation atlas: leveraging network biology to identify master regulators of rejuvenation strategies."

As highlighted in the study's abstract, current rejuvenation strategies-;ranging from calorie restriction to in vivo partial reprogramming-;tend to improve only a few specific cellular processes. In addition, the molecular mechanisms behind these approaches remain largely unknown, which limits the development of more comprehensive cellular rejuvenation strategies.

To tackle this challenge, researchers Javier Arcos Hodar, Sascha Jung, Mohamed Soudy, Sybille Barvaux, and Antonio del Sol from CIC bioGUNE-BRTA (Basque Research and Technology Alliance in Derio, Spain), Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), and the Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science (Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain), developed SINGULAR (Single-cell RNA-seq Investigation of Rejuvenation Agents and Longevity)-;a cell rejuvenation atlas that offers a comprehensive systems biology analysis of diverse rejuvenation strategies across multiple organs at single-cell resolution.

"In particular, we leverage network biology approaches to characterize and compare the effects of each strategy at the level of intracellular signaling, cell-cell communication, and transcriptional regulation."

The researchers also analyzed the effects of six rejuvenation strategies across nine studies, involving 73 cell types, at multiple levels: gene regulatory networks, intracellular signaling, cell-cell communication, and cellular processes. They identified master regulators at each level of biological organization and uncovered common targets across immune cells. Lastly, they demonstrated how SINGULAR can be used to select drugs that mimic the effects of complex interventions.

"Thus, we expect SINGULAR to be of great utility in informing further advances in human age reversal."