{
  "id": 4032586,
  "title": "Female specific erosion of allelic fidelity in aged CD8 memory T cells",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/female-specific-erosion-of-allelic-fidelity-in-aged-cd8-memory-t-cells",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-28T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.27.747566v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Recent research has uncovered a female-specific erosion of allelic fidelity in aged CD8 memory T cells. The molecular mechanisms behind the changes in the mammalian immune system due to sex and age are still not fully understood. In this study, researchers examined the inactive X chromosome (Xi) at single-allele and single-cell resolution. They discovered that the erosion of transcriptional fidelity in the Xi is greater in aged CD8 memory T cells. This phenomenon is primarily observed in aged female mice, where a higher level of Xi transcription and chromatin accessibility is coupled with enhanced immune activation and clonal expansion. These conditions define an effector-like CD8 memory subpopulation that is more prevalent in aged females. The researchers also found that ageing CD8 memory T cells in humans upregulate known escape genes, indicating a conserved feature of the aging immune system. Overall, the findings suggest that cell-type-specific loss of fidelity in Xi maintenance is a female-specific mechanism contributing to immune aging.",
  "summary": "The molecular mechanisms by which sex and age remodel the mammalian immune system remain poorly understood. Here, we show at single-allele and single-cell resolution that the inactive X chromosome (Xi) is subject to cell-type-specific erosion of its transcriptional fidelity with ageing. Single-cell multiomics analysis in mice revealed this phenotype to be concentrated in aged CD8 memory T cells,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}