Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41852885›Full record

ArticleMaterials today. Bio2026

Age-mimicking hydrogel stiffness recapitulates the mechanical niche of the hippocampus to regulate neural stem cell senescence.

Luyao Guo, Longjiao Ge, Yong Li, Shouye Wang, Huitong Li, Xiaoyu Wang, Weiliang Qian, Yu Zhang, Liuhanhui Guo, Luxuan Guo and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Materials today. Bio, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Luyao GuoState Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650504, China.
Longjiao GeState Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650504, China.
Yong LiState Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650504, China.
Shouye WangState Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650504, China.
Huitong LiState Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650504, China.
Xiaoyu WangState Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650504, China.
Weiliang QianState Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650504, China.
Yu ZhangState Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650504, China.
Liuhanhui GuoState Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650504, China.
Luxuan GuoTianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, 301617, China.
Ruihong ChengInstitute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, AML, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
Weizhi JiState Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650504, China.
Wenxiang FuYunnan Key Laboratory of Cell Metabolism and Diseases, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China.
Lei ZhangState Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650504, China.
Runrui ZhangState Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650504, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Neural stem cell (NSC) aging significantly contributes to reduced neurogenesis, driven by both intrinsic mechanisms and environmental cues. However, the response of hippocampal NSCs to developmental and age-related changes in microenvironmental stiffness remains incompletely understood. Our study showed that hippocampal tissue stiffness increases substantially with age, correlating with diminished neurogenesis. To faithfully model this age-dependent mechanical transition, we engineered hyaluronic acid-laminin hydrogels matching physiological hippocampal stiffness across age groups. Culturing NSCs from different-aged donors on these stiffness-tunable hydrogels revealed that age-related hippocampal stiffening accelerates the NSC aging phenotype and impairs their proliferation and neuronal differentiation. This functional decline was associated with upregulated expression of collagen and integrin genes alongside downregulated expression of cell cycle-promoting genes in NSCs. Our study further revealed that aging alters Piezo1 expression, and disrupting Piezo1 rejuvenated the proliferative capacity of old NSCs while restoring the expression patterns of cell cycle and cell adhesion genes in stiff microenvironments. Moreover, we found that the regulation of NSC aging by niche stiffness is largely conserved from rodents to primates. This conserved mechanism establishes a foundation for novel regenerative strategies that target mechanotransduction pathways, potentially enabling neural tissue repair through biomaterial-assisted cell transplantation.

Indexed as

AgingHippocampal stiffnessHydrogelNeural stem cellPiezo1

Identifiers

PMID41852885
PMCPMC12995504

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.