撰文丨王聪 编辑丨王多鱼 排版丨水成文 细胞衰老 （ Cellular senescence ） 通常被定义为一种细胞状态，其特征是在没有细胞死亡的情况下细胞周期永久性停滞。衰老细胞表现出几个典型的特征，包 括停止分裂状态、细胞形态改变、线粒体功能障碍、活性氧 （ROS） 水平升高、DNA 损伤和突变率增加以及衰老相关分泌表型 （SASP） 。 细胞衰老会影响人一生中的大脑健康和疾病；因此，研究人员正在努力识别包括大脑组织在内的各种人体组织中衰老细胞特有的基因和蛋白质表达模式。例如， 衰老在发育过程中发挥着重要作用，尤其是在诸如神经管闭合等对大脑结构正常形成至关重要的过程中。相反，在正常衰老过程中，大脑组织中衰老细胞的比例 逐渐增加。在病理学背景下， 细胞衰老 与年龄相关的 神经退行性疾病 有关，包括阿尔茨海默病 （AD） 和帕金森病 （PD） ，而在发育过程中，衰老通路的异 常激活或激活时机不当，可能在神经发育异常中发挥致病作用。因此，弄清楚衰老细胞如何在人的一生中影响大脑健康和疾病，至关重要。 2026 年 1 月 22 日， 西奈山伊坎医学院的研究人员在国际顶尖学术期刊 Cell 上发表了题为： Est ...

Core Insights - The research published by the team from Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine establishes a direct link between cellular aging and brain structure, providing new perspectives on brain development, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases [1][3]. Group 1: Research Findings - Understanding brain structure is a core challenge in neuroscience, with its changes throughout life closely related to aging and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's [3]. - The study combines biopsy samples from the prefrontal cortex obtained during deep brain stimulation surgery with brain imaging data, allowing for simultaneous analysis of molecular features and brain structure in the same individual [3]. - A novel method was developed to identify aging cells in live human brain tissue, exploring the relationship between aging-related gene expression and brain structure [3][4]. Group 2: Key Discoveries - One significant finding is that the impact of cellular aging on brain structure varies by cell type and life stage; genes related to the aging of microglia are associated with larger brain volume, while those related to excitatory neurons are linked to reduced brain volume during aging [4]. - Aging-related characteristics of excitatory neurons are evident early in life, indicating that the aging process begins shortly after embryonic development [4]. - The study also detected signs of aging during developmental stages, suggesting that this process may play a critical role in early brain development [4].