Aging research is the study of senescence and physiological decline in organisms. In plants, understanding these aging processes is vital because senescence directly impacts productivity, yield, and stress tolerance—factors critical for agricultural sustainability. This knowledge informs strategies for extending plant lifespan and maintaining vigor in crops and horticultural systems.
Scientists built a lab-grown three-layer blood vessel using human cells to study Hutchinson-Gilford progeria, a rare rapid-aging disease, and found that fibroblasts (the vessel's structural cells) play an outsized role in driving the disease's hallmark artery damage.
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A trilayer tissue-engineered blood vessel (TEBV) combining smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts was used to model Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS)
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HGPS fibroblasts specifically drove extracellular matrix dysregulation and fibrotic signaling, while smooth muscle cells drove collagen buildup and endothelial cells drove inflammation
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Base editing to correct the HGPS mutation restored many disease features in the engineered vessels to near-healthy levels
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