Fractional re-distribution among cell motility states during ageing. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Ageing in humans is associated with the decreased capacity to regulate cell physiology. Cellular properties, such as cell morphology and mechanics, encode ageing information, and can therefore be used as robust biomarkers of ageing. Using a panel of dermal fibroblasts derived from healthy donors spanning a wide age range, we observe an age-associated decrease in cell motility. By taking advantage of the single-cell nature of our motility data, we classified cells based on spatial and activity patterns to define age-dependent motility states. We show that the age-dependent decrease in cell motility is not due to the reduced motility of all cells, but results from the fractional re-distribution among motility states. These findings highlight an important feature of ageing cells characterized by a reduction of cellular heterogeneity in older adults relative to post-adolescent/adults. Furthermore, these results point to a mechanistic framework of ageing, with potential applications in deciphering emergent ageing phenotypes and biomarker development.

publication date

  • January 19, 2021

Research

keywords

  • Aging
  • Cell Movement

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC7815872

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 85099543931

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1038/srep18437

PubMed ID

  • 33469145

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 4

issue

  • 1