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Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Measuring Single-Cell Aging with an Imaging-based Biomarker of Chromatin and Epigenetic Aging
Published on: January 30, 2026
Epigenomic profiling of young and aged HSCs reveals concerted changes during aging that reinforce self-renewal
Deqiang Sun1, Min Luo2, Mira Jeong2
1Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Abstract:
To investigate the cell-intrinsic aging mechanisms that erode the function of somatic stem cells during aging, we have conducted a comprehensive integrated genomic analysis of young and aged cells. We profiled the transcriptome, DNA methylome, and histone modifications of young and old murine hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Transcriptome analysis indicated reduced TGF-β signaling and perturbation of genes involved in HSC proliferation and differentiation. Aged HSCs exhibited broader H3K4me3 peaks across HSC identity and self-renewal genes and showed increased DNA methylation at transcription factor binding sites associated with differentiation-promoting genes combined with a reduction at genes associated with HSC maintenance. Altogether, these changes reinforce HSC self-renewal and diminish differentiation, paralleling phenotypic HSC aging behavior. Ribosomal biogenesis emerged as a particular target of aging with increased transcription of ribosomal protein and RNA genes and hypomethylation of rRNA genes. This data set will serve as a reference for future epigenomic analysis of stem cell aging.
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