Topic: Heart-Centric Cross-Organ and Systemic Interactions in Aging

Aging is the primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease, yet the heart does not age in isolation. It operates within a complex network of systemic and inter-organ crosstalk, where dysfunction in one organ can accelerate pathology in another. This Special Issue, “Heart-Centric Cross-Organ and Systemic Interactions in Aging”, aims to explore the heart as a central hub in a broader aging network, focusing on how its interactions with other key organs—including the liver, adipose tissue, brain, skeletal muscle, kidney, and immune system—drive cardiovascular decline and overall healthspan.

We invite original research, reviews, and perspectives that elucidate the mechanisms of this multi-organ dialogue. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

● The impact of systemic factors such as circulating inflammatory mediators, exosomes, and metabolic hormones on cardiac senescence;

● Application of pharmacological strategies targeting mitochondrial dysfunction and mitochondria‑ER crosstalk to intervene in atherosclerosis and lipid dysregulation;

● The impact of systemic therapeutic agents on cardiac senescence and cardiovascular aging, as well as potential strategies to prevent or alleviate these adverse effects;

● Inter-organ communication of mitochondrial dysfunction, senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), and metabolic remodeling;

● The role of the immune system and inflammaging in propagating age-related damage across multiple organ systems;

● Application of multi-omics, computational biology, and systems pharmacology to map and target these cross-organ networks.

We particularly encourage submissions that bridge basic science with translational potential, emphasizing that a comprehensive, systems-level understanding is crucial for developing holistic therapeutic strategies to combat cardiovascular aging and extend healthy lifespan. This issue seeks to highlight novel pathways for intervention that target the integrated biology of aging, rather than the heart alone.

Cardiovascular aging, multi-organ interactions, neuro-cardiovascular axis, immunometabolism, inflammaging, inter-organ crosstalk, systems biology, healthspan