Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
A cohort study tracking 20-year age-related declines in multiple organ systems finds that, already by midlife, those aging fastest showed cognitive declines, signs of brain aging, diminished sensory–motor function and negative views about aging.
The authors identify an atypical type of stem cell division that regulates hair follicle organ homeostasis and aging in mice. These ‘stress-responsive-type’ asymmetrical cell divisions cause hair follicle stem cells to detach from the basement membrane leading to their exhaustion, elimination and organ aging.
In a nationwide, longitudinal and population-based matched-cohort study, Janbek and colleagues find dementia to be a risk factor for infection-related hospital contacts and conclude that infections might be an early sign of dementia.
Using a mouse model of lung fibrosis, the authors find that overexpression of SIRT3 in myofibroblasts lowers their threshold for apoptosis, allowing their clearance from tissues and restoration of the lost capacity for fibrosis resolution in aged mice.
The authors show that plasma levels of NfL increase with age in humans and are associated with mortality in nonagenarians and centenarians. In mice, a life-extending dietary restriction manipulation attenuated the similar age-related increase in plasma NfL levels.
Investigation of the long-lived blind mole rat adaptive immune system reveals that they do not accumulate large memory T-cell clones and effector programs with aging. Such organization could relieve the burden of inflammaging triggered by persistent clonal expansions and contribute to the long and healthy Spalax lifespan.
Stressed mitochondria activate multiple defense pathways to improve health. Li et al. show that the acetyltransferases CBP/p300 play a central role in mitochondrial stress signaling that defends mitochondrial function and promotes health and longevity.
Using metagenomics sequencing, Zhang et al. examined sex- and age-dependent trajectories of the gut microbiota in four cohorts across China, Israel and the Netherlands. The authors found age-related gut microbial trajectories common across all populations, with the abundance of Streptococcus gordonii predicting chronological age.
The authors show that cutaneous immunity is attenuated during aging due to the recruitment, by senescent fibroblasts, of inflammatory monocytes, which in turn inhibit resident memory T cell activation. Inhibition of p38 MAPK signaling blocks the recruitment and function of these monocytes and restores immunity.
The authors find that mice fed a diet with reduced levels of branched-chain amino acids have improved metabolic health, and in males but not females, lifelong feeding of such a diet reduces frailty and extends life span.
This study shows that combinations of blood-based biomarkers can be used to predict cognitive decline and dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease in patients with mild cognitive impairment. Biomarkers for tau and neurodegeneration provided accurate prognosis of decline and conversion over four years.
The authors identify the evolutionarily conserved amino acid-sensing protein Sestrin as a key mediator of dietary restriction benefits in flies. Sestrin regulates gut stem cell activity via the TOR pathway, resulting in improved gut health and longevity.