Gene expression of unperturbed young and aged mouse bladders

Aging has multifaceted effects on the immune system, but how aging affects tissue-specific immunity is not well-defined. Bladder diseases characterized by chronic inflammation are highly prevalent in older women, but mechanisms by which aging promotes these pathologies remain unknown. Tissue transcriptomics of unperturbed, young, and aged bladders identified a highly altered immune landscape as a fundamental feature of the aging female bladder. Detailed mapping of immune cells using single cell RNA- sequencing revealed novel subsets of macrophages and dendritic cells and unique changes to the immune repertoire in the aged bladder. B and T cells are highly enriched in aged bladders and spontaneously form organized bladder tertiary lymphoid tissues (bTLTs). 4 young (3 mo) and 4 aged (18 mo) C57BL6J mouse bladders衰老是免疫系统的多维度影响因素，但衰老如何调控组织特异性免疫仍未得到充分阐明。以慢性炎症为特征的膀胱疾病在老年女性中高发，然而衰老促进此类病理进程的具体机制仍未明确。对未受扰动的年轻与衰老雌性膀胱开展组织转录组学分析，发现免疫景观的显著重塑是衰老膀胱的核心特征。利用单细胞RNA测序（single cell RNA-sequencing）对免疫细胞进行精细分型与图谱绘制，研究揭示了巨噬细胞与树突状细胞的新型亚群，以及衰老膀胱中免疫组库的独特变化。B细胞与T细胞在衰老膀胱中高度富集，并自发形成结构化的膀胱三级淋巴组织（bladder tertiary lymphoid tissues，bTLTs）。实验样本为4只年轻（3月龄）与4只衰老（18月龄）C57BL6J小鼠的膀胱组织。