Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes
Summary: Aging disrupts tissue integrity through the accumulation of senescent cells that impair morphology, signaling, and regeneration. We investigated how bioelectric signaling, specifically resting membrane potential (Vmem), guides the transition to senescence in human keratinocytes. Using volta...
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Elsevier
2025-09-01
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| Series: | iScience |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225015366 |
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| author | Hamid Sediqi Michael Levin |
| author_facet | Hamid Sediqi Michael Levin |
| author_sort | Hamid Sediqi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Aging disrupts tissue integrity through the accumulation of senescent cells that impair morphology, signaling, and regeneration. We investigated how bioelectric signaling, specifically resting membrane potential (Vmem), guides the transition to senescence in human keratinocytes. Using voltage-sensitive dyes, we tracked Vmem alongside senescence markers, chromatin state, and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) cytokines. Senescence was marked by depolarization, increased inter-culture heterogeneity, reduced intra-culture variability, and loss of spatial Vmem organization. SASP activation was partial: depolarization selectively enhanced interleukin-6 (IL-6) but not IL-1α or IL-8, indicating Vmem shapes the senescent secretome. Senescent cells showed reduced responsiveness to hyperpolarizing drug pinacidil and impaired bioelectric resilience. Hyperpolarization attenuated, and depolarization exacerbated, senescence-associated phenotypes. These findings support the morphostatic information loss theory, which posits that aging results from breakdown of bioelectrically encoded cues that preserve tissue structure. Vmem emerges as a low-dimensional integrator of cell state and spatial order, offering a biophysical target to delay senescence and maintain tissue coordination. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f1ec779b53ad4ca8a4e067e626cbdfd0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj-art-f1ec779b53ad4ca8a4e067e626cbdfd02025-08-22T04:57:08ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-09-0128911327510.1016/j.isci.2025.113275Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytesHamid Sediqi0Michael Levin1Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USAAllen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Corresponding authorSummary: Aging disrupts tissue integrity through the accumulation of senescent cells that impair morphology, signaling, and regeneration. We investigated how bioelectric signaling, specifically resting membrane potential (Vmem), guides the transition to senescence in human keratinocytes. Using voltage-sensitive dyes, we tracked Vmem alongside senescence markers, chromatin state, and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) cytokines. Senescence was marked by depolarization, increased inter-culture heterogeneity, reduced intra-culture variability, and loss of spatial Vmem organization. SASP activation was partial: depolarization selectively enhanced interleukin-6 (IL-6) but not IL-1α or IL-8, indicating Vmem shapes the senescent secretome. Senescent cells showed reduced responsiveness to hyperpolarizing drug pinacidil and impaired bioelectric resilience. Hyperpolarization attenuated, and depolarization exacerbated, senescence-associated phenotypes. These findings support the morphostatic information loss theory, which posits that aging results from breakdown of bioelectrically encoded cues that preserve tissue structure. Vmem emerges as a low-dimensional integrator of cell state and spatial order, offering a biophysical target to delay senescence and maintain tissue coordination.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225015366Biological sciencesBiotechnologyBioengineering |
| spellingShingle | Hamid Sediqi Michael Levin Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes iScience Biological sciences Biotechnology Bioengineering |
| title | Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes |
| title_full | Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes |
| title_fullStr | Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes |
| title_short | Bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes |
| title_sort | bioelectric characterization of senescing human keratinocytes |
| topic | Biological sciences Biotechnology Bioengineering |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225015366 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hamidsediqi bioelectriccharacterizationofsenescinghumankeratinocytes AT michaellevin bioelectriccharacterizationofsenescinghumankeratinocytes |