Dissecting cellular and molecular networks of aging and senescence in the human hippocampus

A study finds that cell type, anatomical layer, and sex jointly shape aging and cellular senescence signatures in the post-mortem adult human hippocampus. Using spatial transcriptomics, single-nucleus transcriptomics, and multiplex immunofluorescence imaging (DOI: 10.64898/2026.10.23.761418), it shows that inhibitory neuron synaptic genes in the CA4 layer decline with age. A microglial and neurovascular program highly expressed in females contains senescence-associated genes including CDKN1A/p21, and candidate senescence phenotypes defined by p16 and p21 also differ.