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Single-cell omics in ageing: a young and growing field
Xiaojuan He1,2, Sebastian Memczak3, Jing Qu4,5,6
1Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Nature Metabolism
|July 23, 2020
Summary
Single-cell omics methods offer powerful tools to understand the complex molecular changes in organismal ageing. These advanced techniques reveal cellular heterogeneity, paving the way for interventions against ageing and related diseases.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Gerontology
- Genomics
Background:
- Organismal ageing involves complex, interconnected molecular changes across multiple organs.
- Studying ageing at the molecular level is challenging due to variations in decay and kinetics within and between organs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an overview of single-cell omics methods for studying ageing.
- To discuss the potential of these methods in understanding ageing mechanisms and developing interventions.
Main Methods:
- Emerging single-cell omics technologies, including genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic profiling.
- Integration with proteome and metabolome analysis for multidimensional cellular insights.
- Spatial profiling to understand cell states and fate determination.
Main Results:
- Single-cell omics enable detailed molecular and spatial profiling of cells.
- These methods capture cellular heterogeneity crucial for understanding ageing.
- Advancements provide unprecedented data detail and throughput.
Conclusions:
- Single-cell approaches are pivotal for unraveling the heterogeneous process of ageing.
- These techniques can advance the understanding of ageing mechanisms.
- They hold promise for developing interventions for ageing and age-associated diseases.
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