Age-associated changes in the skin transcriptome in Naked mole-rats

Naked mole rats (NMRs, Heterocephalus glaber) are long-lived mammals that possess a natural resistance to cancer and other age-related pathologies, maintaining a healthy life span for >30 years. We report application of RNAseq technology to analyze changes in the skin transcriptome of NMRs during aging. RNAseq analyses reveal that the transcript levels of several longevity-associated (Igfbp3, Igf2bp3, Ing2) and tumor-suppressor genes (Btg2, Cdkn1a, Cdkn2c, Dnmt3a, Hic1, Socs3, Sfrp1, Sfrp5, Thbs1, Tsc1, Zfp36) are increased in aged versus young NMR skin. Overall, these data suggest that specific features in the NMR skin aging transcriptome might contribute to the resistance of NMRs to spontaneous skin carcinogenesis and provide a platform for further investigations of NMRs as a model organism for studying the biology and disease resistance of human skin. Overall design: Total RNA was extracted from full-thickness dorsal skin samples obtained from young and old NMRs. The RNA samples were analyzed by RNAseq.