Cell Stem Cell

Vitamin C attenuates primate bone marrow aging at the molecular and progenitor level

Experiments in animalsInterventions
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Abstract

Bone marrow aging compromises hematopoiesis and immunity, yet whether these processes are modifiable in primates remains unexplored. Here, we map the single-cell transcriptomic landscape of primate bone marrow aging and demonstrate that long-term oral vitamin C (VC) supplementation attenuates selected molecular and progenitor-level decline. Aging drives severe common lymphoid progenitor (CLP) depletion, myeloid-biased hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) output, and anatomical site-specific molecular adaptations. VC administration partially offsets these phenotypes, expanding the CLP pool and rebalancing lineage commitment trajectories. This aligns with a ∼4-year reduction in transcriptomic age estimates, cross-validated by an epigenetic clock. Cell-cell communication analyses revealed that VC remodels intercellular signaling, nominating a VC-responsive, progranulin (GRN)-linked candidate pathway. In parallel, human in vitro assays demonstrate that recombinant progranulin mirrors selected VC-associated molecular actions. Collectively, these findings delineate the molecular architecture of primate bone marrow aging and nominate modifiable pathways for further investigation.