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Published on: November 26, 2017
Gene expression profiling of the ageing rat vibrissa follicle
1Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hill's Road, Cambridge CB2 2QR, UK.
Background:
The application of gene expression profiling to the study of chronological ageing has the potential to illuminate the molecular mechanisms underlying a complex and active process. For example, ageing of the skin and its constituent organs has myriad phenotypic consequences, and a better understanding of the means by which these changes arise has important corollaries for intervention strategies.
Objectives:
We used a transcriptional profiling approach to investigate changes in gene expression associated with ageing of the large vibrissa follicle of the Wistar rat.
Methods:
Follicle mRNA isolated from male Wistar rats at 1 and 18 months of age was hybridized to Clontech Atlas 1.2 Rat cDNA macroarrays. Confirmation of array results was provided by the use of Northern blotting and immunohistochemistry.
Results:
Seven transcripts displayed at least a 1.6-fold increase in expression with age, of which APOD (2.5-fold), GSTM2 (2.0-fold) and NPY (1.8-fold) showed the greatest increases. Decreased expression was found in 19 transcripts, most notably in ALOX12 (13.3-fold) and GAP43 (12.6-fold) expression.
Conclusions:
Follicular ageing is characterized by transcriptional changes associated with diverse aspects of keratinocyte metabolism, proliferation and development.
