Single-Cell RNAseq Reveals That Pancreatic β-Cells From Very Old Male Mice Have a Young Gene Signature

Endocrinology. 2016 Sep;157(9):3431-8. doi: 10.1210/en.2016-1235. Epub 2016 Jul 28.

Abstract

Aging improves pancreatic β-cell function in mice. This is a surprising finding because aging is typically associated with functional decline. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing of β-cells from 3- and 26-month-old mice to explore how changes in gene expression contribute to improved function with age. The old mice were healthy and had reduced blood glucose levels and increased β-cell mass, which correlated to their body weight. β-Cells from young and old mice had similar transcriptome profiles. In fact, only 193 genes (0.89% of all detected genes) were significantly regulated (≥2-fold; false discovery rate < 0.01; normalized counts > 5). Of these, 183 were down-regulated and mainly associated with pathways regulating gene expression, cell cycle, cell death, and survival as well as cellular movement, function, and maintenance. Collectively our data show that β-cells from very old mice have transcriptome profiles similar to those of young mice. These data support previous findings that aging is not associated with reduced β-cell mass or functional β-cell decline in mice.

MeSH terms

  • Aging / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Cellular Senescence
  • Glucose / metabolism
  • Homeostasis
  • Insulin-Secreting Cells / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Sequence Analysis, RNA
  • Single-Cell Analysis
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • Transcriptome

Substances

  • Transcription Factors
  • Glucose