Novel Follicular Cells’ Collector for Aging and Cancer Research

Posted by

Aging (Aging-US)

Aging-US published this trending research paper selected as the cover for Volume 13, Issue 23, entitled, “An efficient, non-invasive approach for in-vivo sampling of hair follicles: design and applications in monitoring DNA damage and aging” by researchers from the Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University and University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, Palacky University and University Hospital in Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic; Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark; Division of Genome Biology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Science for Life Laboratory, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Abstract In accordance with the 3 Rs principle (to replace, reduce and refine) animal models in biomedical research, we have developed and applied a new approach for sampling and analyzing hair follicles in various experimental settings. This involves use of a convenient device for non-invasive collection of hair follicles and processing methods that provide sufficient amounts of biological material to replace stressful and painful biopsies. Moreover, the main components of hair follicles are live cells of epithelial origin, which are highly relevant for most types of malignant tumors, so they provide opportunities for studying aging-related pathologies including cancer. Here, we report the successful use of the method to obtain mouse hair follicular cells for genotyping, quantitative PCR, and quantitative immunofluorescence. We present proof of concept data demonstrating its utility for routine genotyping and monitoring changes in quality and expression levels of selected proteins in mice after gamma irradiation and during natural or experimentally induced aging. We also performed pilot translation of animal experiments to human hair follicles irradiated ex vivo. Our results highlight the value of hair follicles as biological material for convenient in vivo sampling and processing in both translational research and routine applications, with a broad range of ethical and logistic advantages over currently used biopsy-based approaches. Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://oncotarget.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Foncotarget.203744 DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.203744 Full Text - https://www.aging-us.com/article/203744/text Correspondence to: Martin Mistrik email: martin.mistrik@upol.cz and Marian Hajduch email: marian.hajduch@upol.cz Keywords: hair follicle cells, non-invasive sampling, irradiation, cellular senescence, DNA damage response About Aging-US Launched in 2009, Aging-US publishes papers of general interest and biological significance in all fields of aging research and age-related diseases, including cancer—and now, with a special focus on COVID-19 vulnerability as an age-dependent syndrome. Topics in Aging-US go beyond traditional gerontology, including, but not limited to, cellular and molecular biology, human age-related diseases, pathology in model organisms, signal transduction pathways (e.g., p53, sirtuins, and PI-3K/AKT/mTOR, among others), and approaches to modulating these signaling pathways. Please visit our website at http://www.Aging-US.com​​ or connect with us on: SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/Aging-Us Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AgingUS/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/AgingJrnl Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/agingjrnl/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/agingus​ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aging/ Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/AgingUS/ Aging-US is published by Impact Journals, LLC please visit http://www.ImpactJournals.com​​ or connect with @ImpactJrnls Media Contact 18009220957 MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM