Understanding the role of noisy chromatin deregulation in aging macrophages
Immune cells, known as macrophages, are critical to both maintaining healthy tissue and recovering from injury or infection. As the body ages, macrophages get worse at performing these functions, which contributes to age-related decline. However, it can be difficult to detect the precise impact as the internal structure of cells becomes unstable over time and the DNA that determines how cells function becomes corrupted. These aspects of cellular aging affect individual macrophages differently leading to “noisiness” in the population as a whole. To better understand the source of this noise, the Winter lab will use state-of-the-art technologies for assaying individual cells and simulate age-associated instability to determine whether the stability of DNA is linked to increased noise across macrophages. These results will further our understanding of why macrophage function declines with age. Dr. Winter’s long-term goal is to identify targets for interventions to improve aging immunity and achieve a healthier old age.
