Senescent immune cells accumulation promotes brown adipose tissue dysfunction during aging. Mus musculus

Brown adipose tissue (BAT)-mediated thermogenesis declines with age. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we reveal remarkable bone marrow-derived pro-inflammatory and senescent S100A8+ immune cells, mainly T cells and neutrophils, invade the BAT during aging. These S100A8+ immune cells, coupled with sympathetic nerves and adipocytes, compromise axonal networks. Mechanistically, these senescent immune cells secrete abundant S100A8 to inhibit adipose RNA-binding motif protein 3 expression. This downregulation results in the dysregulation of axon guidance-related genes, leading to impaired sympathetic innervation and thermogenic function. Xenotransplantation experiments show that human S100A8+ immune cells infiltrate mice BAT and are sufficient to induce aging-like BAT dysfunction. Notably, treatment with S100A8 inhibitor Paquinimod rejuvenated BAT axon networks and thermogenic function in aged mice. Our study suggests that targeting the bone marrow-derived senescent immune cells presents an avenue to improve BAT aging and related metabolic disorders.