Longevity & AgingHow Aging Turns Muscle's Repair Network Against Itself
Skeletal muscle aging is not simply a story of stem cell loss. This review synthesizes single-cell, spatial, and multimodal omics evidence to show that aging systematically disrupts the entire multicellular community inside muscle tissue. Muscle stem cells, fibro-adipogenic progenitors, immune cells, blood vessels, and neuromuscular junctions all shift into maladaptive states that reinforce one another through dysfunctional signaling loops. The result is chronic inflammation that never resolves, progressive fibrosis, impaired vascular support, and incomplete nerve reconnection — collectively driving sarcopenia. The authors argue that restoring healthy communication networks among these cell populations, rather than targeting any single cell type, is the most promising path to reversing age-related muscle decline.
