Cited by 532Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanismsNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsSingle-cell and spatial transcriptomics

Single-cell analysis reveals T cell infiltration in old neurogenic niches

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Dulken, Ben W., Buckley, Matthew T., Navarro Negredo, Paloma, Saligrama, Naresha, Cayrol, Romain, Leeman, Dena S., George, Benson M., Boutet, Stéphane C. +7 more·2019·Nature

Abstract

The mammalian brain contains neurogenic niches that comprise neural stem cells and other cell types. Neurogenic niches become less functional with age, but how they change during ageing remains unclear. Here we perform single-cell RNA sequencing of young and old neurogenic niches in mice. The analysis of 14,685 single-cell transcriptomes reveals a decrease in activated neural stem cells, changes in endothelial cells and microglia, and an infiltration of T cells in old neurogenic niches. T cells in old brains are clonally expanded and are generally distinct from those in old blood, which suggests that they may experience specific antigens. T cells in old brains also express interferon-γ, and the subset of neural stem cells that has a high interferon response shows decreased proliferation in vivo. We find that T cells can inhibit the proliferation of neural stem cells in co-cultures and in vivo, in part by secreting interferon-γ. Our study reveals an interaction between T cells and neural stem cells in old brains, opening potential avenues through which to counteract age-related decline in brain function.

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Crossref · 10.1038/s41586-019-1362-5

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  • T cell abundance substantially increased in old animals, although the change did not reach statistical significance due to the small number of cells detected.

    “we also observed a substantial increase in the abundance of T cells in old animals (Figure 2A), although the change did not reach statistical significance due to the small number of cells detected in this rare cell population.”

    From Molecular and spatial signatures of mouse brain aging at single-cell resolution (2023) · cites this paper as [41]

    The Main section, “Single cell RNA-seq analysis of young and old neurogenic niches” (page unavailable), reports that T cells were enriched in old mice and confirms an increase by immunofluorescence. It does not say that the increase failed to reach statistical significance or attribute such a result to the small number of cells detected; the Methods section directs readers to supplementary statistical results without stating that explanation. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Among genes most differentially expressed in oligodendrocytes are several genes that characterize this cell type during ageing and neurodegeneration.

    “Among the genes that were most differentially expressed in oligodendrocytes were several genes that characterize this cell type during ageing and neurodegeneration, including H2-D1, Ifi27, C4b, Spock3, Trf or Sgk1 (refs. 42,43).”

    From cGAS–STING drives ageing-related inflammation and neurodegeneration (2023) · cites this paper as [42]

    The Main section ('Single cell RNA-seq analysis of young and old neurogenic niches'; page unavailable) reports age-related shifts in oligodendrocyte transcriptomic states. It does not identify the listed genes as among the most differentially expressed in oligodendrocytes or establish that they characterize oligodendrocytes during neurodegeneration. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Increased clonal expansion and CD8+ T cell infiltration in the brain are observed both in AD patients and during aging.

    “Indeed, increased clonal expansion and CD8+ T cell infiltration in the brain are observed both in AD patients and during aging (48, 49).”
  • Once activated CD8+ T cells have infiltrated the brain, they can release IFN-γ to stimulate excessive microglial synaptic pruning or inhibit adult neural stem cell proliferation, impairing neuronal homeostasis.

    “Once activated CD8+ T cells have infiltrated the brain, they can release IFN-γ to stimulate excessive microglial synaptic pruning or inhibit adult neural stem cell proliferation (44, 49), impairing neuronal homeostasis.”
  • In the brain, old age is accompanied by an increase in the number of quiescent NSCs and a decrease in their ability to activate.

    “In the brain, old age is accompanied by an increase in the number of quiescent NSCs and a decrease in their ability to activate6–8.”

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [18]Hochgerner H,. Z. Amit, Lönnerberg Peter, Linnarsson Sten Conservation of differentiation but transformation of initiation in hippocampal neurogenesis. Nat Neurosci 21, 290– 299 (2018). 29335606

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Authors
Dulken, B. W., Buckley, M. T., Navarro Negredo, P., Saligrama, N., Cayrol, R., Leeman, D. S., George, B. M., Boutet, S. C., Hebestreit, K., Pluvinage, J. V., Wyss-Coray, T., Weissman, I. L., Vogel, H., Davis, M. M., & Brunet, A.
Affiliations
  • Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (US)
  • Stanford University (US)
  • Stanford Medicine (US)
  • Genentech (US)
  • 10X Genomics (United States) (US)
  • Verge Genomics (United States) (US)
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Brunet, Anne
Venue
Nature
Published
2019-07-03
Volume
571
Issue
7764
Pages
205-210
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2954434934
Cited by
521
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 36 · 2025: 74 · 2024: 75 · 2023: 105 · 2022: 82 · 2021: 71 · 2020: 64 · 2019: 13
FWCI
22.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (T32AG047126, P01AG036695)
  • National Human Genome Research Institute (T32HG000044)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32GM007365)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
Keywords
neurogenic niche, brain aging, T cell infiltration, neural stem cells, interferon-gamma, clonal expansion, microglia, endothelial cells, single-cell transcriptomics
MeSH terms
Aging, Animals, Blood, Brain, Cell Movement, Clone Cells, Interferon-gamma, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, T-Lymphocytes, Signal Transduction, Sequence Analysis, RNA, Microglia, Coculture Techniques, Endothelial Cells, Cell Proliferation, Mice, Stem Cell Niche, Neurogenesis, Neural Stem Cells, Single-Cell Analysis, Transcriptome

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