No abstract

Renal infiltration with mononuclear cells is associated with poor prognosis in SLE. A renal macrophage/dendritic cell signature is associated with onset of nephritis in NZB/W mice and immune modulating therapies can reverse this signature and the associated renal damage despite ongoing immune complex deposition. In nephritic NZB/W mice renal F4/80hi/CD11cint macrophages are located throughout the interstitium whereas F4/80lo/CD11chi dendritic cells accumulate in perivascular lymphoid aggregates. We show here that F4/80hi/CD11cint renal macrophages have a Gr1lo/Ly6Clo/VLA4lo/MHCIIhi/CD43lo/CD62Llo phenotype, different to that described for inflammatory macrophages. At nephritis onset F4/80hi/CD11cint cells upregulate cell surface CD11b, acquire cathepsin and MMP activity and accumulate large numbers of autophagocytic vacuoles; these changes reverse after induction of remission. Latex bead labeling of peripheral blood Gr1lo monocytes indicates that these are the source of F4/80hi/CD11cint macrophages. CD11chi/MHCIIlo dendritic cells are found in the kidneys only after proteinuria onset, turnover rapidly, and disappear rapidly after remission induction. Gene expression profiling of the F4/80hi/CD11cint population displays increased expression of pro-inflammatory, regulatory and tissue repair/degradation associated genes at nephritis onset that reverses with remission induction. Our findings suggest that mononuclear phagocytes with an aberrant activation profile contribute to tissue damage in lupus nephritis by mediating both local inflammation and excessive tissue remodeling.

Highlights d BARseq uses in situ sequencing to map neuronal projections with high throughput d BARseq correlates neuronal projections to gene expression and Cre-labeling d BARseq recapitulates known organization of projections in auditory cortex d BARseq reveals distinct projections of transcriptionally defined IT subtypes

Aging is characterized by a progressive deterioration of physiological integrity, leading to impaired functional ability and ultimately increased susceptibility to death. It is a major risk factor for chronic human diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurological degeneration, and cancer. Therefore, the growing emphasis on “healthy aging” raises a series of important questions in life and social sciences. In recent years, there has been unprecedented progress in aging research, particularly the discovery that the rate of aging is at least partly controlled by evolutionarily conserved genetic pathways and biological processes. In an attempt to bring full-fledged understanding to both the aging process and age-associated diseases, we review the descriptive, conceptual, and interventive aspects of the landscape of aging composed of a number of layers at the cellular, tissue, organ, organ system, and organismal levels.