FACTS:
- Researchers developed PathStAR, a framework that quantifies tissue structural aging from routine histopathology images without being trained to predict chronological age.
- The framework was applied to 25,306 post-mortem biopsies from 40 tissues in 970 donors aged 21 to 70 years from the GTEx cohort.
- The study found that organ structural aging progresses via distinct, nonlinear temporal trajectories rather than gradual decline.
- Vascular tissue structural aging was found to accelerate early, while uterus and vagina structural aging accelerated later, around menopause, and certain tissues including digestive and male reproductive organs showed biphasic accelerations.
- Periods of accelerated structural aging were characterized across organs by increased inflammation alongside reduced energy production, repair and quality control.
- Cross-organ analysis revealed coordinated deterioration within individuals, including a link between digestive and male reproductive tissues that the researchers suggest is connected to sex hormones.
- A genome-wide association analysis found that SIRT6 gene variants were specifically associated with accelerated vascular structural aging.
SOURCE:
For the full breakdown in Nature, click here.