Fig. 4: CD38 deletion reversed aging-related cell-type-specific gene expression changes.

a, IHC of CD38 in ovarian sections from 2-month-old WT mice. Bottom: magnification of images showing CD38 localizes in the stroma, corpora lutea (CL) and vessel. Scale bars, 50 μm (top) and 25 μm (bottom). b, UMAP plot showing the six ovarian cell types. c, UMAP plots showing the Cd38 expression in the six ovarian cell types. d, Proportions of the six major cell types in the ovaries from 2-month-old and 12-month-old WT and 12-month-old Cd38^−/− mice by scRNA-seq. e, Ridge plot showing the shift of SASP, DNA repair and cell cycle gene-set scores with age and CD38 deletion. f–h, Violin plots showing the SASP (f), DNA repair (g) and cell cycle (h) set scores in each cell type from different groups. Statistical analysis was performed using two-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. i, Heat maps illustrating the distribution of DEGs in each specific cell type present in the ovaries from 2-month-old, 12-month-old WT and 12-month-old Cd38^−/− mice. Aging DEGs refer to genes that exhibited changes between the 12-month-old and 2-month-old groups, specifically in the context of aging. Cd38^−/− DEGs indicate genes that displayed alterations in the 12-month-old Cd38^−/− group compared with the age-matched WT group. Rescued DEGs are genes that demonstrated inverse changes in the Cd38^−/− DEG group as compared with the aging DEG group. j, Representative GO terms and pathways enriched in CD38 deletion rescued DEGs that are downregulated, identified through functional enrichment analysis. k, Representative GO terms and pathways enriched in CD38 deletion rescued DEGs that are upregulated, identified through functional enrichment analysis.