Biology subjects

Steinchen, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Steinchen, C..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Lifespan Analysis of the Lung Epithelium Reveals Inflammatory Reprogramming and Regenerative Decline

Aging is a major risk factor for chronic lung diseases, associated with chronic low-grade inflammation (inflammaging) and impaired epithelial regeneration. How epithelial-intrinsic aging intersects with inflammaging across the lifespan remains poorly understood. Here, we systematically analyzed lung epithelial cells from neonatal, young adult, and aged mice to define age-dependent changes in regenerative capacity. RNA sequencing revealed lifespan-associated shifts characterized by early repression of developmental and WNT/{beta}-catenin programs and progressive activation of DNA damage, inflammation, and senescence signatures. Functionally, neonatal epithelial cells exhibited markedly enhanced organoid-forming capacity compared with young and aged cells. Aged organoids maintained a pro-inflammatory secretory profile indicative of cell-intrinsic inflammaging, and transfer of the aged secretome or TNF- to young cultures significantly impaired regeneration. Comparison of freshly isolated cells and long-term organoid cultures revealed sustained repression of regenerative pathways with age, consistent with stable epigenetic imprinting. Pharmacological inhibition of DNA methylation and WNT signalling partially restored regenerative capacity in adult organoids. Together, these findings identify epigenetic reprogramming and epithelial-intrinsic inflammaging as key determinants of age-dependent regenerative decline.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Single cell decomposition of multicellular aging programs associated with impaired lung regeneration

Aging impairs the regenerative capacity of mammalian organs and is a major risk factor for organ fibrosis. Mechanisms underlying persistent fibrosis after lung injury in old individuals remain unclear. We used longitudinal single-cell RNA-seq after lung injury and dissected aging effects computationally and experimentally at baseline and during repair. In old mice, sustained fibroblast activation in the resolution phase of fibrosis was associated with prolonged epithelial senescence and persistent epithelial-mesenchymal crosstalk. Single-cell interpretable tensor decomposition analysis revealed that aging most strongly affected T/B-lymphocytes and macrophages. Notably, we identified a Granzyme K-high CD8+ T cell state that was unique to aged mice, co-localized with epithelial progenitors, and its co-culture or Gzmk treatments in lung organoids impaired progenitor function by inducing stem cell senescence. In summary, our study highlights the effects of immune aging on epithelial progenitor function and provides a time-resolved high resolution map of lung regeneration in the context of aging.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Primary human lung fibroblasts exhibit trigger- but not disease-specific cellular senescence and impair alveolar epithelial cell progenitor function

Aging is the main risk factor for chronic lung diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Accordingly, hallmarks of aging such as cellular senescence are increased in different cell types such as fibroblasts in the lungs of these patients. However, whether the senescent phenotype of fibroblasts derived from IPF or COPD differs is still unknown. Therefore, we characterized senescence at baseline and after exposure to disease-relevant insults (H2O2, bleomycin, and TGF-{beta}1) in cultured primary human lung fibroblasts (phLF) from control donors, IPF, or COPD patients. We found that phLF from different disease-origins have a low baseline senescence. H2O2 and bleomycin treatment induced a senescent phenotype in phLF whereas TGF-{beta}1 only had a pro-fibrotic effect. Interestingly, we did not observe any differences in susceptibility to senescence induction in phLF based on disease origin. However, exposure to different stimuli resulted in different senescent programs in phLF. Moreover, senescent phLF reduced colony formation efficiency of alveolar epithelial progenitor cells. In conclusion, the senescent phenotype of phLF is mainly determined by the senescence inducer and impairs alveolar epithelial progenitor capacity in vitro.

cell biology↗