WASHINGTON: Scientists from Allen Institute for Brain Sciences identified the molecular changes that occur in the brains of aging mice and located a hotspot where most of the damage is centralized. Cells in this area are also linked to metabolism, thus suggesting a link between diet and brain health.
Allen Institute scientists have identified specific cell types in the brains of mice that undergo major changes as they age, as well as a specific hotspot where many of these changes occur. The findings are published in the journal Nature.
The study found that in the aging brain, genes associated with inflammation increased in activity while those related to neuronal structure and function decreased.
“Our hypothesis is that these cell types become less efficient at integrating signals from our environment or things we consume,” said Kelly Jin, PhD, a scientist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science and lead author of the study. .
“And that loss of efficiency somehow contributes to what we call aging of the rest of our body. I think it’s pretty amazing, and I think it’s remarkable that we are able to find these very specific changes with the methods that we use.”
Through this study, scientists discovered a possible link between diet, lifestyle factors, brain aging and changes that can influence our susceptibility to age-related brain disorders.
They found a specific hot spot combining both decreased neuronal function and increased inflammation in the hypothalamus. The most significant gene expression changes were observed in cell types near the third ventricle of the hypothalamus, including tanycytes, ependymal cells, and neurons known for their roles in food intake, energy homeostasis, metabolism and how our bodies use nutrients.
To conduct the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers used cutting-edge single-cell RNA sequencing and advanced brain mapping tools developed through NIH’s THE BRAIN initiative to map more than 1.2 million brain cells from young (two months old) and old (18 months old) people in 16 large brain regions.
Older mice are what scientists consider to be the equivalent of a middle-aged human. The mouse brain shares many similarities with the human brain in terms of structure, function, genes and cell types.
Scientists believe the results of this study could pave the way for future therapies aimed at slowing or managing the brain aging process.