In a bid to enhance our understanding of ageing, a team of scientists has uncovered the intricate mechanisms by which immunoglobulins influence the ageing process.

By analysing millions of spatial spots across nine organs in male mice, the team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and BGI Research created high-precision spatial transcriptomic maps.

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These maps detailed the spatial distribution of over 70 cell types, offering a vivid picture of aging’s spatial characteristics.

The transcriptomic landscape, dubbed Gerontological Geography (GG), exposes the common threads of tissue structural disorder and loss of cellular identity as hallmarks of aging.

“This landscape is a significant step forward, pinpointing the epicenters of ageing within multiple organs and uncovering the accumulation of immunoglobulins as a key aging characteristic and driver,” said Professor Liu Guanghui, one of the corresponding authors of the study published in the journal Cell.

The quest for systemic biomarkers and key drivers of aging has been a long-standing puzzle in the field of gerontology.

The researchers discovered that increased spatial structural disorder and loss of cellular identity are universal signs of systemic ageing, suggesting that spatial structural damage may be a primary cause of organ functional decline during ageing.

The team also identified senescence-sensitive spots (SSS), which are structural regions in different tissues more susceptible to ageing’s effects.

They found that areas closer to SSS exhibit higher tissue structural entropy and greater loss of cellular identity, indicating that SSS could be the nucleus of organ ageing.

This study is the first to map the spatial transcriptome of pan-organ ageing in mammals, revealing tissue structural disorder and loss of cellular identity as key aging hallmarks and precisely locating the core regions and microenvironmental characteristics of ageing sensitivity.

The study expands the frontiers of ageing science and opens new avenues for delaying aging and preventing related diseases.