The Genomics of Aging at the Single-Cell Scale

Aging is the primary risk factor for many diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. The rapid advancement of single-cell sequencing technologies has opened promising avenues for investigating aging-associated cellular changes that contribute to disrupted system homeostasis and increased vulnerability to age-related diseases. Despite the abundance of data generated over the past decade, a systematic understanding of how aging affects cell type–specific populations across the entire mammalian organism remains lacking—a critical gap for elucidating the cellular foundations of aging-related system dysfunction. In this review, we address this knowledge gap by summarizing recent single-cell studies examining the impact of aging on cell type–specific population changes across mammalian organs. We also review the impact of gender and anti-aging interventions on cell population dynamics in aged mammals. This work provides a comprehensive catalog of cellular states susceptible to aging, highlighting potential therapeutic targets for aging and age-related diseases.