Towards Precision Aging Biology: Single-Cell Multi-Omics and Advanced AI-Driven Strategies

Individual aging is a complex biological process involving multiple levels, with molecular changes existing in heterogeneity across different cell types and tissues, being regulated by both internal and external factors. Traditional senescence markers, including p16, cell morphological changes, and cell cycle arrest, can only partially reflect the complexity of senescence. Single-cell omics technology facilitates the integration of multi-faceted data, including gene expression profiles, spatial dynamics, chromatin accessibility and metabolic pathways. This comprehensive approach enhances the development of biomarkers, granting us a more profound insight into the heterogeneity inherent within senescent cell populations. In this review, we summarize the application of single cell multi-omics approaches in analyzing senescence mechanisms and potential intervention targets from the perspectives of transcriptomics, epigenetics, metabolomics, and proteomics, explore the potential of developing new senescence markers at the cellular level using machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence in bioinformatics analysis. Finally, we further discuss the challenges and prospective trajectories within this research domain to provide a more comprehensive perspective on dissecting the regulatory networks of senescence cells.