New single-cell transcriptomic clock reveals intrinsic and systemic T cell aging in COVID-19 and HIV
“These findings underscore the promise of single-cell transcriptomic biomarkers to disentangle the systemic and cell-intrinsic components of immune aging and to measure immune aging.”
2026-02-19
(Press-News.org)
“These findings underscore the promise of single-cell transcriptomic biomarkers to disentangle the systemic and cell-intrinsic components of immune aging and to measure immune aging.”
BUFFALO, NY — February 19, 2026 — A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on February 8, 2026, titled “Single-cell transcriptomics reveal intrinsic and systemic T cell aging in COVID-19 and HIV.”
In this study, co-first authors Alan Tomusiak from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the University of Southern California, and Sierra Lore from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the University of Copenhagen, together with corresponding author Eric Verdin from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, developed a new single-cell transcriptomic clock called T immune cell transcriptomic clock (Tictock) to measure aging in specific immune cells.
Immune aging increases susceptibility to infection, cancer, and chronic inflammatory disease. Most aging clocks, used to measure it, rely on bulk measurements from mixed cell populations. As a result, they cannot determine whether age-related signals reflect shifts in cell proportions or true molecular aging within defined immune cells.
To address this limitation, the research team used single-cell RNA sequencing, a method that measures gene expression in individual cells. They analyzed nearly two million immune cells from the blood of healthy adults to develop Tictock. This tool integrates automated classification of six canonical T cell subsets with cell-type specific age prediction models. This design enables the separation of systemic aging, reflected by changes in cell proportions, from intrinsic aging, which occurs within individual cells.
When the team applied Tictock to patients with acute COVID-19, they found two clear effects. First, COVID-19 altered T cell composition, including significant reductions in naïve CD8 and naïve CD4 T cells. Second, the infection increased the biological age of naïve CD8 T cells. In people living with HIV who were receiving long-term antiretroviral therapy, T cell proportions remained largely stable. However, naïve CD8 T cells still showed signs of accelerated aging.
The study also uncovered shared biological pathways linked to immune aging. Many of the genes that predicted age were involved in ribosomes, the structures that help cells produce proteins. The researchers also observed that older immune cells often had shorter average transcript lengths, a feature previously linked to aging. These findings suggest that changes in protein production and gene regulation play an important role in immune decline.
“Gene Ontology enrichment of 209 genes shared across six clock models identified common pathways including the cytosolic small ribosomal subunit, TNF receptor binding, and cytosolic ribosome components.”
Overall, Tictock was designed to measure relative aging within defined T cell populations rather than overall biological aging. By distinguishing systemic from cell-intrinsic immune aging, it provides a clearer understanding of how viral infections such as COVID-19 and HIV reshape immune function. This approach enables the study of immune aging at single-cell resolution and may support improved immune risk assessment in clinical and research settings.
Paper DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.206353
Corresponding author: Eric Verdin – EVerdin@buckinstitute.org
Keywords: aging, transcriptomic clock, aging biomarkers, systemic aging, intrinsic aging
Click here to sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article.
______
To learn more about the journal, please visit www.Aging-US.com and connect with us on social media:
Bluesky
ResearchGate
Facebook
X
Instagram
YouTube
LinkedIn
Reddit
Pinterest
Spotify, and available wherever you listen to podcasts
Click here to subscribe to Aging-US publication updates.
For media inquiries, please contact media@impactjournals.com.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2026-02-19
Species numbers alone do not fully capture how ecosystems are changing. In a global study led by researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, scientists analysed long-term data from nearly 15,000 marine and freshwater fish communities. They found that fish food webs have changed substantially over recent decades, even in places where the number of species (species richness) has remained stable. Published in Science Advances, the study shows consistent shifts in species composition, body size, and feeding ...
2026-02-19
A study of over 50,000 pregnant women in Norway during the 2023/24 influenza season found that only 29.9% were vaccinated against influenza and 12.1% against COVID-19 during pregnancy, remaining far below recommended targets. The study was published on Eurosurveillance and conducted by Stecher et al. from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
Vaccination against COVID-19 and influenza are recommended during pregnancy by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Norway, as pregnant women and their newborns have an increased risk of severe outcomes from these diseases. For at-risk groups, the WHO recommends a vaccination target of 75% for both infections.
These findings emphasise ...
2026-02-19
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Past studies in animals have shown that a highly processed diet is linked to memory problems and inflammation in the aged brain – and the effect can happen fast, after just three days of poor eating.
A new study suggests another dietary pitfall could have a similar damaging effect in a similarly short amount of time in older adults: a lack of fiber.
The study in rats also points to the amygdala – the small structure governing emotional memories, especially related to bad experiences – as a brain region that is particularly sensitive ...
2026-02-19
Miami (February 19, 2026) – Certain neighborhood characteristics, including higher poverty, more uninsured residents, and lower educational attainment, may lead to an increase in COPD-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations, according to a new study in the January 2026 issue of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, a peer-reviewed, open access journal.
COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, affects more than 30 million Americans and is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. It can be caused by genetics and irritants like smoke ...
2026-02-19
Food insecurity can increase anxiety and undermine employees at work, but workplace programs to address it can improve job outcomes, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
“There is an implicit assumption that food insecurity primarily affects unemployed people, but it’s a pervasive issue that impacts a sizable portion of the workforce,” said lead researcher Jason Moy, MS, a doctoral student in organizational behavior at the University of Washington. “We hope business leaders can change their mindset and understand that supporting employees facing food insecurity extends beyond humanitarian concerns ...
2026-02-19
PULLMAN, Wash. – Exposure to infection and other immune stress in the womb increases the likelihood of alcohol misuse in adulthood, a risk that may be reduced through prenatal antioxidant treatment, a new Washington State University study shows.
The findings, published in the journal Psychopharmacology, provide insight into how early biological stress shapes addictive behaviors and identifies a potential approach for lowering the risk of alcohol use disorder — a problem with massive social and financial costs.
“People ...
2026-02-19
PULLMAN, Wash. — The urgent onset of “the munchies” after cannabis use isn’t imaginary – it’s a cognitive response that occurs regardless of sex, age, weight or recent food consumption and could offer clues to help people struggling with appetite loss.
Those findings from a collaborative study, conducted by researchers at Washington State University and the University of Calgary, were recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
“There are a lot of different diseases, conditions and disorders associated with wasting syndromes ...
2026-02-19
Pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps) are among the ocean’s most enigmatic inhabitants – rarely seen and largely unstudied. They live far offshore in small groups, diving in search of squid and fish. Their quiet behavior and elusive nature have made it difficult to study them in the wild.
Pygmy sperm whales are rarely encountered free-swimming. Most scientific knowledge about them has come from stranded individuals – especially along the southeastern coast of the United States, where these whales strand ...
2026-02-19
Artificial intelligence has taken the world by storm. In biology, AI tools called deep neural networks (DNNs) have proven invaluable for predicting the results of genomic experiments. Their usefulness has these tools poised to set the stage for efficient, AI-guided research and potentially lifesaving discoveries—if scientists can work out the kinks.
“Right now, there are a lot of different AI tools where you’ll give an input, and they’ll give an output, but we don’t have a good way of assessing the certainty, or how confident they are, in their answers.” explains Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Associate Professor Peter ...
2026-02-19
In the pursuit of powerful and stable quantum computers, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed the theory for an entirely new quantum system – based on the novel concept of ‘giant superatoms’. This breakthrough enables quantum information to be protected, controlled, and distributed in new ways and could be a key step towards building quantum computers at scale.
It is anticipated that quantum computers will revolutionise technologies in areas such as drug development and encryption by tackling problems far ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] New single-cell transcriptomic clock reveals intrinsic and systemic T cell aging in COVID-19 and HIV
“These findings underscore the promise of single-cell transcriptomic biomarkers to disentangle the systemic and cell-intrinsic components of immune aging and to measure immune aging.”
