Hellen C. Greenblatt

In vivo, maternal Ig ↆ oral #rotavirus vaccine immunogenicity by ↑ vaccine clearance, thereby ↆ protection. Note: in mice, MatAb interference is mediated by milk-derived antibodies. In humans, transplacental versus breast milk antibodies likely depends on the vaccine platform. bit.ly/3L8thbU

The impacts of chronic infections on shaping cellular senescence - Immunity & Ageing Cellular senescence is a fundamental biological process characterized by stable cell cycle arrest, genomic instability, and the acquisition of a proinflammatory secretory phenotype. While senescence is traditionally associated with aging, growing evidence reveals that chronic infections such as viral, bacterial, and protozoan parasites can serve as powerful inducers of senescence, contributing to premature aging and long-term tissue damage. This review explores the diverse mechanisms by which persistent pathogens trigger or sustain senescence in host cells. We highlight how these chronic infections manipulate host DNA repair, mitochondrial dynamics, telomere maintenance, oxidative stress, and immune function to promote senescence and immunosenescence. Emerging findings also reveal how pathogens hijack the host cellular machinery to induce senescence across various tissue types. In many cases, senescence not only enables pathogen persistence but also drives pathological outcomes such as fibrosis, neurodegeneration, cardiomyopathy, and immune exhaustion. Collectively, this emerging evidence highlights a unifying strategy among diverse pathogens: the exploitation of cellular senescence to support chronic infection and promote disease. Understanding how infectious agents drive senescence offers new insights into age-related pathologies and highlights potential therapeutic targets, such as senolytic and senomorphic agents, to mitigate the long-term impacts of chronic infections.

Cellular #senescence→ genomic instability, #inflammatory phenotype and #pathogen persistence→ disease (e.g. fibrosis, neurodegeneration, cardiomyopathy, and immune exhaustion). Review: bit.ly/4q7b0vN

Targeting immunosenesence promotes clearance of senescent cells - Immunity & Ageing Known as immunosenescence, the major dysregulation of the immune system with age is associated with poor vaccination efficacy, and increased susceptibility to infections, age-related pathologies, and neoplasms, with incidences exacerbated with age. Cellular senescence is a crucial process that puts cells in an irreversible cell-cycle arrest which prevents damaged or stressed cells from uncontrolled propagation and eventually potential malignancy. Paradoxically, senescence also contributes to the occurrence of cancer and increases the risk of metastasis through different secretory mediators. Altogether, the recent use of senotherapy to eliminate senescent cells has been shown to delay tumorigenesis, attenuate age-related deterioration of organs, and promote healthy aging. Interestingly, immune cells have been shown to specifically interact with, and kill senescent cells, thus opening new opportunities for the development of specific therapeutic strategies similar to immunotherapy in cancer. Through its detrimental impact on the immune system, immunosenescence is also leading to the accumulation of senescent cells with age thus further contributing to the occurrence and worsening of multiple age-related pathologies such as cancer. Understanding the molecular and cellular events occurring during the aging process, and triggering immunosenescence as well as the mechanisms by which senescent cells escape immune surveillance would help to improve immune responses to senescent cells and their clearance. In this review, we highlight how senescent cells interact with immune cells, and how immunosenescence-associated phenotypical and functional deregulation hinder the ability of immune cells to clear senescent cells. We further characterize strategies aimed at promoting the clearance of senescent cells by the immune system.

Chronic #SASP production→ ↑ #inflammation. Accumulation of #senescent cells→ ↑ cancer and other age-associated pathologies. Targeting and clearance of senescent cells ↆ pathologies. bit.ly/46Sbu1r

Frontiers | Immunoglobulin: unraveling its complex web in aging Aging is a complex biological phenomenon, which involved in a large number of diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular diseases. Unders...

#Aging can regulate the production and function of #immunoglobulins, through immunosenescence, chronic #inflammation, #epigenetic modification, and microbe disturbances. bit.ly/46Dv6Gn

Effects of 12-Week Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation on Immune Function, Body Weight, and Metabolic Parameters in Middle-Aged Women: A Retrospective Study Objective: This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the effects of a 12-week combined supplementation of vitamin D3, vitamin K2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and magnesium on immune function, body compo...

Supplementation with #vitamins D3, K2, B6, B12, and #magnesium →↑ immune function, ↆ #adiposity while preserving lean mass, and ameliorates #metabolic dysregulation in middle-aged ♀. bit.ly/46GyEHH [open access].

Sex-specific body fat distribution predicts cardiovascular ageing AbstractBackground and Aims. Cardiovascular ageing is a progressive loss of physiological reserve, modified by environmental and genetic risk factors, that

Fat on the hips and thighs→ protective against heart aging in women. Fat around belly (male)→particularly predictive of early aging in men. bit.ly/46aMjW0 [open access]

Microglial STING is a central safeguard against neurological decline with age Immune pathways and cell types that protect against neurodegenerative processes with aging remain poorly understood. Sulka et al. demonstrate that the innate immune adaptor, STING, provides essential ...

#STING limits #inflammation and damage to DNA. Deficiency→ increased neurological decline via blood-brain barrier breakdown. #Microglial STING signaling critical to prevent BBB breakdown and ensure neuromotor deficits in the aging brain. bit.ly/4p9lkDc bit.ly/462sobK [open access].

#Parkinson’s disease. 5/10 of PD brains evidence of human #pegivirus (HPgV) vs. 0/14 HPgV-. HPgV-brain+ patients with PD → ↑ neuropathology. Blood+ →↑ IGF-1 and ↆ pS65-ubiquitin, supporting disruption in #mitophagy in response to #HPgV. bit.ly/4mEAuOT [open access].

C-reactive protein and cardiovascular risk among women with no standard modifiable risk factors: evaluating the ‘SMuRF-less but inflamed’ AbstractBackground and Aims. Interventions in preventive cardiology traditionally focus on four standard modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (SMuRFs): h

High levels of #inflammatory biomarker, #hsCRP, assoc. w ↑ #cardiovascular risk in females that do not smoke or have #hypertension, dyslipidaemia, #diabetes. bit.ly/4mMBLDQ [open access].

Frontiers | A cross-sectional exploration of the dietary inflammation index association with cardiovascular disease in gout: application of machine learning algorithms Objective: Gout is a condition strongly associated with dietary patterns and elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in affected individuals. Given the...

In #gout, Dietary #Inflammatory Index (DII) assoc. with increased cardiovascular disease (#CVD). Modify diet and ↆCVD? bit.ly/4mFGcAj

#Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) → mediate repair. #Obesity impairs MSC functionality → #inflammation. bit.ly/4mEqzZJ

Engineered bacteria launch and control an oncolytic virus - Nature Biomedical Engineering CAPPSID relies on an engineered S. typhimurium to act as a synthetic ‘capsid’ to transcribe and deliver viral RNA inside cancer cells, launching a virus that can directly lyse surrounding cells.

#S. typhimurium were designed to deliver and release self-replicating #oncolytic viral #RNA into #tumor host cells, eventually killing them. go.nature.com/4msnYlB [open access]

RSV infection disrupts gut microbiota and metabolic homeostasis in mice, regulating pulmonary inflammation via the SPHK/S1P pathway | Microbiology Spectrum Our research provides new insights into how respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection affects the host's gut microbiota, lipid metabolism, and the immune-inflammatory network. The findings demonstra...

#RSV → gut #microbiota, # lipid metabolism, #pulmonary #inflammation. ↆ #fat→, ameliorated lung inflammation and neutrophil accumulation in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. bit.ly/45oCDrS [open access]

Interplay between physical activity, inflammation, and cognitive performance in women with type 2 diabetes: an observational study focused on IL-6 pathway mediators - Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome Introduction Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with cognitive impairment, with dysregulation of the interleukin-6 (IL-6) signaling pathway—particularly its soluble receptors—implicated in ...

Moderate #physical activity in ♀ w Type 2 #diabetes → ↑cognitive function, memory, executive function. ↆ #inflammation, cholesterol, fasting blood sugar. bit.ly/4fviRya [open access]

Microglia are prominent producers of inflammatory cytokines during the hyperacute phase of ischemic stroke - Communications Biology In-depth characterization of the hyperacute phase (<3 h) following ischemic stroke reveals severe neuroinflammation before the arrival of brain-infiltrating peripheral immune cells, driven by micro...

#Microglia→early activation #ischemic stroke → #inflammation. Inflammatory #cytokines present in abundance in brain 3 h following stroke onset. Modulate their function → ↑ #stroke recovery. go.nature.com/46QIvLF [open access]

New hope for Alzheimer’s: lithium supplement reverses memory loss in mice Studies in rodents and humans suggest that low levels of the metal contribute to cognitive decline.

A decline in #lithium concentration in the brain is linked to memory loss and the neurological hallmarks of #Alzheimer’s.
bit.ly/46IIysZ go.nature.com/3HmIx3w [open access]

The brain fires up immune cells when sick people are nearby When people viewed virtual avatars with coughs or rashes, their brains triggered an immune response.

At the mere sight of a sick person, the brain activates front-line immune cells in mimicking the body’s response to an actual infection → cascade of #neuro–immune mediators→ activation of innate #lymphoid cells. go.nature.com/46u1v2t
bit.ly/3Ha2drc [open access]

Obesity-driven inflammation and cancer risk: a comprehensive review Obesity is a growing global health challenge, significantly increasing the risk of metabolic diseases and cancer. This review explores the link betwee…

Review: “Chronic low-grade #inflammation in #obesity, mediated by dysfunctional adipose tissue, promotes a pro-tumorigenic microenvironment through increased secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines…” →# tumorigenesis. bit.ly/3IP8b1q

Frontiers | Inflammatory state moderates response to cannabis on negative affect and sleep quality in individuals with anxiety IntroductionInflammation has been implicated as an underlying pathology in negative affect and sleep disruption. Cannabinoids like delta-9-tetrahydrocannabin...

#CBD → ↆ anxiety, ↑ sleep quality. Greater improvements in those w higher baseline #inflammation vs. lower. No reduction in inflammatory #cytokines. #THC inconsistent results. bit.ly/4mbVyvC [open access]

Whole-body MRI in patients with arthralgia or inflammatory arthritis after exposure to immune checkpoint inhibitors: a single-centre prospective imaging study MRI inflammation and erosions are as prevalent in patients with arthralgia exposed to an immune checkpoint inhibitor as in those with inflammatory arthritis. This finding suggests that the overall bur...

Immune #checkpoint inhibitor → polymyalgia rheumatica and #inflammatory #arthritis phenotype → joint erosion and hand tenosynovitis. bit.ly/414jskt bit.ly/4lR8TJZ [open access]

Inflammatory markers including NLR, AFR and SII as prognostic factors in neuroblastoma - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Inflammatory markers including NLR, AFR and SII as prognostic factors in neuroblastoma

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (#NLR) and systemic immune-#inflammation index (#SII), inflammatory markers, can effectively predict mortality and recurrence risk in #neuroblastoma. bit.ly/4lD6v99 [open access]

Factor-H-related protein 1 (FHR1), a promotor of para-inflammation in age-related macular degeneration - Journal of Neuroinflammation Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a multifactorial type of retinal degeneration represents the most common cause for blindness in elderly. Polymorphisms in complement factor-H increase, while ab...

In age-related #macular degeneration, #FHR1 accumulates below the retinal pigment epithelium, stabilizes and activates mononuclear #phagocytes → degeneration. bit.ly/4lwjXfD [open access]

Nonuniversality of inflammaging across human populations - Nature Aging Analyzing readouts of inflammaging across four cohorts, Franck and colleagues identify strong variation and observe that inflammaging, in its known form, primarily emerges in industrialized—but not no...

“#Inflammation, thought to be a driver of age-related disease, does not worsen with #age in some Indigenous communities.” bit.ly/3Tjmmxy bit.ly/4lclvuW

Genetic link found between instant coffee consumption and dry AMD A study reveals a genetic link between instant coffee consumption and increased risk of dry age-related macular degeneration, urging caution for high-risk individuals.

Genetics and drinking instant #coffee ↑ dry #AMD (age-related #macular degeneration) 7x (but not wet AMD). bit.ly/4kfzbUH bit.ly/4l4EtUl [open access]

Nerve-to-cancer transfer of mitochondria during cancer metastasis - Nature A study reports the development of a method to trace intercellular transfer of mitochondria, and demonstrates that cancer cells that receive mitochondria from neurons have enhanced metastatic capabili...

During #cancer metastasis, neurons transfer #mitochondria → cancer cells. Cancer cell acquisition of neuron-derived mitochondria → adequate metabolic arsenal to survive and successfully proliferate in the brain environment. bit.ly/3GfnCyR [open access]

Gut Microbiome May Influence Bipolar Medication Response - Neuroscience News A new review has examined how bipolar disorder medications interact with the gut microbiome, revealing important links between treatment response and gut microbial composition.

The #gut-brain axis → medication effects and mood regulation in #bipolar individuals. Psychotropics alter gut #microbiome. Patients who responded to treatment → markedly different microbiome populations vs. non-responders. bit.ly/44m2gbf bit.ly/4karXkX [open access]

Pro-inflammatory signaling in #adipocytes essential for adipose expansion, remodeling, and tissue integrity. Counterintuitive? Suppression of adipocyte #inflammation →tumor-friendly microenvironment →mammary #cancer progression. bit.ly/4k7kKCc

Mitochondria in oxidative stress, inflammation and aging: from mechanisms to therapeutic advances - Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy - Mitochondria in oxidative stress, inflammation and aging: from mechanisms to therapeutic advances

#Mitochondria serve as hubs regulating oxidative stress, #inflammation, and #aging, and their dysfunction contributes to cancer, CVD, neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic diseases, sepsis, ocular pathologies, autoimmune conditions. Review [open access ] go.nature.com/45gSzNf

#Inflammation in #Respiratory and #Neurological Diseases- Multiple open access papers. bit.ly/45y8A1j

Immunotherapy-related cognitive impairment after CAR T cell therapy in mice CAR T cell therapy can cause cognitive impairment in mouse models with central nervous system (CNS) and non-CNS cancers by inducing persistent neuroinflammation, thereby disrupting oligodendroglial ho...

#CAR T cell therapy →white matter #microglial reactivity, chemokine expression → neurological #inflammation→ↆ #cognition in vivo. bit.ly/4kekKRI go.nature.com/3FpFp5Z