scRNA-seq of the white matter of young and old mice

Cellular senescence is a state of irreversible cell-cycle arrest caused by a persistent DNA damage response, activated by various cellular stresses, such as telomere shortening, oncogene activation, excessive oxidative stress, and radiation. In addition to irreversible cell cycle arrest, mainly coordinated by p16Ink4a and p21Waf1/Cip1, senescent cells exhibit a secretory phenotype that releases various inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors into their extracellular fluid. Accumulating evidence indicates that cellular senescence is one of the key factors causing age-related tissue dysfunction in various organs. However, the features of cells that undergo cellular senescence and their significance in neural impairment are still unclear in the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, we aimed to characterize senescent cells in the CNS and investigate their significance in neural pathogenesis. We identified senescent cells in the mouse brains, especially in the white matter region. Thus, we collected the white matter from young and old mice and analyze them by scRNA-seq.