Trending with Impact: Glial Senescence in Brainstem Causes Sympathetic Overactivity

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Aging (Aging-US)

Aging-US published this trending editorial on May 26, 2021, entitled, “Aging is associated with glial senescence in the brainstem - implications for age-related sympathetic overactivity” by researchers from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK; Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK. Abstract Accumulating evidence suggests that the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) overactivity plays a crucial role in age-related increase in the risk for cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke and heart diseases. Previous studies indicate that neuroinflammation in key brainstem regions that regulate sympathetic outflow plays a pathogenic role in aging-mediated sympathoexcitation. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are not clear. While senescent cells and their secretory phenotype (SASP) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several age-related diseases, their role in age-related neuroinflammation in the brainstem and SNS overactivity has not been investigated. To test this, we isolated brainstems from young (2-4 months) and aged (24 months) male C57BL/6J mice and assessed senescence using a combination of RNA-in situ hybridization, PCR analysis, multiplex assay and SA-β gal staining. Our results show significant increases in p16Ink4a expression, increased activity of SA-β gal and increases in SASP levels in the aged brainstem, suggesting age-induced senescence in the brainstem. Further, analysis of senescence markers in glial cells enriched fraction from fresh brainstem samples demonstrated that glial cells are more susceptible to senesce with age in the brainstem. In conclusion, our study suggests that aging induces glial senescence in the brainstem which likely causes inflammation and SNS overactivity. Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://oncotarget.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Foncotarget.203111 DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.203111 Full text - https://www.aging-us.com/article/203111/text Correspondence to: Madhan Subramanian email: madhan.subramanian@okstate.edu Keywords: senescence, brainstem, aging, glial cells, sympathetic nervous system About Aging-US Launched in 2009, Aging-US publishes papers of general interest and biological significance in all fields of aging research and age-related diseases, including cancer—and now, with a special focus on COVID-19 vulnerability as an age-dependent syndrome. Topics in Aging-US go beyond traditional gerontology, including, but not limited to, cellular and molecular biology, human age-related diseases, pathology in model organisms, signal transduction pathways (e.g., p53, sirtuins, and PI-3K/AKT/mTOR, among others), and approaches to modulating these signaling pathways. Please visit our website at http://www.Aging-US.com​​ or connect with us on: Twitter - https://twitter.com/AgingJrnl​ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AgingUS/​ SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/aging-us​ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/agingus​ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aging​ Aging-US is published by Impact Journals, LLC please visit http://www.ImpactJournals.com​​ or connect with @ImpactJrnls Media Contact 18009220957 MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM