Longevity & AgingLymphoma Forces Young T Cells to Age Decades in Just Days
Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center discovered that B cell lymphoma alone — without any treatment — is sufficient to trigger accelerated aging in young T cells and multiple tissues. Using mouse lymphoma models and human DLBCL patient samples, they showed that lymphoma rapidly induces in young T cells the same transcriptional, epigenetic, and phenotypic hallmarks seen in aged T cells, including senescence markers, inflammation, disrupted iron homeostasis, and defective protein quality control. Paradoxically, aged T cells were largely resistant to these lymphoma-driven changes. Some lymphoma-induced aging phenotypes reversed after tumor clearance, while others persisted, suggesting that cancer-driven aging is partially but not fully reversible.
