Cited by 80Telomeres, Telomerase, and SenescenceGenetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model OrganismsSingle-cell and spatial transcriptomics

Senolytic therapy alleviates physiological human brain aging and COVID-19 neuropathology

Open access
Aguado, Julio, Amarilla, Alberto A., Taherian Fard, Atefeh, Albornoz, Eduardo A., Tyshkovskiy, Alexander, Schwabenland, Marius, Chaggar, Harman K., Modhiran, Naphak +23 more·2023·Nature Aging

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

Aging is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is linked to severe neurological manifestations. Senescent cells contribute to brain aging, but the impact of virus-induced senescence on neuropathologies is unknown. Here we show that senescent cells accumulate in aged human brain organoids and that senolytics reduce age-related inflammation and rejuvenate transcriptomic aging clocks. In postmortem brains of patients with severe COVID-19 we observed increased senescent cell accumulation compared with age-matched controls. Exposure of human brain organoids to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induced cellular senescence, and transcriptomic analysis revealed a unique SARS-CoV-2 inflammatory signature. Senolytic treatment of infected brain organoids blocked viral replication and prevented senescence in distinct neuronal populations. In human-ACE2-overexpressing mice, senolytics improved COVID-19 clinical outcomes, promoted dopaminergic neuron survival and alleviated viral and proinflammatory gene expression. Collectively our results demonstrate an important role for cellular senescence in driving brain aging and SARS-CoV-2-induced neuropathology, and a therapeutic benefit of senolytic treatments.

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Authors
Aguado, J., Amarilla, A. A., Taherian Fard, A., Albornoz, E. A., Tyshkovskiy, A., Schwabenland, M., Chaggar, H. K., Modhiran, N., Gómez-Inclán, C., Javed, I., Baradar, A. A., Liang, B., Peng, L., Dharmaratne, M., Pietrogrande, G., Padmanabhan, P., Freney, M. E., Parry, R., Sng, J. D. J., Isaacs, A., Khromykh, A. A., Valenzuela Nieto, G., Rojas-Fernandez, A., Davis, T. P., Prinz, M., Bengsch, B., Gladyshev, V. N., Woodruff, T. M., Mar, J. C., Watterson, D., & Wolvetang, E. J.
Affiliations
  • The University of Queensland (AU)
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
  • University of Freiburg (DE)
  • Broad Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Aguado, Julio
Venue
Nature Aging
Published
2023-11-13
Volume
3
Issue
12
Pages
1561-1575
ISSN
2662-8465 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4388626094
Cited by
80
References
69
Citations by year
2026: 29 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 5
FWCI
14.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Aging (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nd)
  • Research Square (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UniSA Research Outputs Repository (University of South Australia) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital
  • Children's Hospital Foundation
  • Broad Institute
  • University of Oxford
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (413517907)
  • Fondation Jérôme Lejeune
  • University of South Australia
  • University of Queensland (UQECR2058457)
  • Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
  • Universidad Austral de Chile
  • Lomonosov Moscow State University
  • Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (3220635, 1200427)
  • Medical Research Council
  • Australian Research Council (DP210103401)
  • National Health and Medical Research Council (2012883, 2001408, 2009957)
  • Queensland Brain Institute
  • Medizinische Fakultät der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
Keywords
senolytic therapy, cellular senescence, brain aging, SARS-CoV-2, human brain organoids, age-related inflammation, dopaminergic neurons, neuroinflammation, viral replication, neurodegeneration
MeSH terms
COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Senotherapeutics, Aged, Aging, Animals, Brain, Humans, Mice

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