Cited by 1,257Telomeres, Telomerase, and SenescenceGenetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organismsinterferon and immune responses

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 68 of the 70 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 14 of the 16 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

L1 drives IFN in senescent cells and promotes age-associated inflammation

Open access

Abstract

Retrotransposable elements are deleterious at many levels, and the failure of host surveillance systems for these elements can thus have negative consequences. However, the contribution of retrotransposon activity to ageing and age-associated diseases is not known. Here we show that during cellular senescence, L1 (also known as LINE-1) retrotransposable elements become transcriptionally derepressed and activate a type-I interferon (IFN-I) response. The IFN-I response is a phenotype of late senescence and contributes to the maintenance of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. The IFN-I response is triggered by cytoplasmic L1 cDNA, and is antagonized by inhibitors of the L1 reverse transcriptase. Treatment of aged mice with the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor lamivudine downregulated IFN-I activation and age-associated inflammation (inflammaging) in several tissues. We propose that the activation of retrotransposons is an important component of sterile inflammation that is a hallmark of ageing, and that L1 reverse transcriptase is a relevant target for the treatment of age-associated disorders.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/s41586-018-0784-9

Cites

68 of 68 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

27 Own result · 23 Own method · 9 Own interpretation · 8 Supported · 2 Partly supported · 2 No full text of the sources · 1 No basis given · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 24 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 36
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 19
48 of 48
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The contribution of RTE activity to aging and age-associated diseases is not known.

    “However, the contribution of RTE activity to aging and age-associated diseases is not known.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Cellular senescence in cultured human fibroblasts is representative of senescence in vivo and of aging.

    “The activation of endogenous L1 elements and the ensuing robust activation of an IFN-I response is a novel phenotype of senescent cells, including naturally occurring senescent cells in tissues.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Absence of nuclear translocation of phospho-STAT2 and IRF9 after interferon treatment signifies lack of IFN-I responsiveness and loss of IFNAR function.

    “The absence of translocation signifies lack of IFN-I responsiveness and hence loss of IFNAR function.”
3 of 3

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

3 of 3

Citations

Cites

Show all 70 references

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Kreiling, J. A. et al. in Human Retrotransposons in Health and Disease (ed. Cristofari, G.) 297–321 (Springer International, New York, 2017).

Cited by

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Items 1,201–1,257 of 1,257

Metadata

Authors
De Cecco, M., Ito, T., Petrashen, A. P., Elias, A. E., Skvir, N. J., Criscione, S. W., Caligiana, A., Brocculi, G., Adney, E. M., Boeke, J. D., Le, O., Beauséjour, C., Ambati, J., Ambati, K., Simon, M., Seluanov, A., Gorbunova, V., Slagboom, P. E., Helfand, S. L., Neretti, N., & Sedivy, J. M.
Affiliations
  • Brown University (US)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
  • NYU Langone Health (US)
  • University of Virginia (US)
  • University of Rochester (US)
  • Leiden University Medical Center (NL)
Corresponding author
Sedivy, John M.
Venue
Nature
Published
2019-02-06
Volume
566
Issue
7742
Pages
73-78
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2911642321
Cited by
1,255
References
70
Citations by year
2026: 162 · 2025: 228 · 2024: 203 · 2023: 179 · 2022: 145 · 2021: 141 · 2020: 129 · 2019: 67
FWCI
82.35
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion)
  • Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (R01 AG047200)
  • National Institute on Aging (F31AG050365, R01AG046320, R01AG024353, R01AG027237, R37AG016694, F31AG043189, R01AG016694, R01AG050582, R37AG016667, T32AG041688, P01AG047200, R37AG046320, P01AG051449)
  • National Eye Institute (R01EY028027, R01EY029799, R01EY024068, R01EY022238)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (DP1GM114862, P20GM119943, P20GM109035)
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (P30AI050410)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › interferon and immune responses
Keywords
LINE-1 retrotransposons, cellular senescence, type I interferon response, inflammaging, sterile inflammation, senescence-associated secretory phenotype, lamivudine, age-related diseases
MeSH terms
Aging, Animals, Female, Fibroblasts, Humans, Inflammation, Interferon Type I, Male, Phenotype, RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase, Down-Regulation, Cellular Senescence, Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors, Lamivudine, Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements, Mice

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