Biomedical subjects

Shuhui Sun

Publications and source records attributed to Shuhui Sun.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Sex-specific aging clocks from a large-scale human phenome reveal distinct aging transitions and circulating signatures.

Aging is a primary risk factor for chronic diseases, yet its progression varies among individuals and between sexes. Here, under the X-Age Project, we profiled the clinical aging phenome of the Multicentric Chinese Aging Study (mCAS) through a cross-sectional analysis of 172 clinical measures from more than 100,000 participants aged 18-98 years across three centers. These profiles enabled sex-specific clinical aging clocks that revealed divergent aging trajectories between women and men during midlife that converged in later life. Phenome-wide analyses revealed age-related accumulation of metabolic factors, including low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, glucose and uric acid, and tumor markers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen and human epithelial protein 4. These age-accumulating factors induced senescence-related phenotypes in human endothelial cells. Furthermore, a high-fat diet mouse model with dietary reversal supported the modifiability of metabolic burden-induced aging. Together, this work establishes metabolic and tumor marker accumulation as actionable drivers of human aging, paving the way for personalized, sex-stratified geroprotective interventions.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

A geroprotective probiotic and its functional metabolite counteract inflammaging to extend healthspan.

The gut microbiome profoundly influences host aging, yet the specific microbes and mechanisms governing divergent aging trajectories remain elusive. In this study, we delineated enterotype-specific gut microbial remodeling during aging and developed a microbiome-based aging clock (MicroAge) to track biological aging trajectories. We identified Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum (B. pseudocatenulatum) as a candidate geroprotective species consistently depleted during aging across both sexes and multiple Chinese cohorts. In naturally aged mice, oral B. pseudocatenulatum monotherapy rescued intestinal homeostasis, mitigated multiorgan inflammaging, enhanced cognitive-motor performance and extended healthspan. Mechanistically, we characterized 5-aminovaleric acid betaine (5-AVAB) as a key B. pseudocatenulatum-derived metabolite whose levels decline physiologically in aging humans. 5-AVAB supplementation partially recapitulated a broad spectrum of the systemic benefits observed with B. pseudocatenulatum treatment, including improved cognitive and motor function and suppressed multiorgan inflammaging. Our findings identify the B. pseudocatenulatum-5-AVAB axis as a promising target for microbiome-based interventions to promote healthy aging.

Animals↗

PubMed2025

Nuclear-lamin-guided plastic positioning and folding of the human genome.

The human genome exhibits a highly ordered hierarchical architecture, yet the mechanisms governing its large-scale organization remain poorly understood. Here, we generate lamin single-, double-, and triple-knockout human embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells (hESCs and hMSCs) to investigate the role of lamins in the spatial organization of the human genome. Complete lamin depletion in hMSCs triggers extensive genome repositioning, disrupts chromosome territories, and dissolves long-range compartment clustering and mega-loops. Lamin loss affects both the nuclear periphery and interior, causing partial inversion and dispersion of nuclear speckles, accompanied by reduced global transcription and impaired stem cell homeostasis. Re-expression of wild-type lamin A, which interacts with the speckle scaffold protein SON, partially restores the organizational and transcriptional defects, while the disease-associated E161K mutant disrupts SON binding and shows limited recovery. Our results elucidate the multifaceted roles of lamins in nuclear organization and link their dysfunction to the pathogenesis of laminopathies.

Humans↗