RNA-seq profiling of epidermal tissues of visually younger and older women in the Youngster-Oldie (Y-O) study. RNA-seq profiling of epidermal tissues of visually younger and older women in the Youngster-Oldie (Y-O) study

Skin, with its distinctive features and visible signs of aging, provides a remarkable model for studying the aging process. The variable rate of skin aging among individuals provides a valuable opportunity to capture a wide range of age-related changes. In this study, we used bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to explore the diverse skin characteristics of individuals with both older and younger appearances. Overall design: We examined samples from 25 women aged 41-51 years who appeared visually at least 5 years younger (n = 10 females) or older (n = 15 females) than their chronological age. Both groups of the Y-O study were similar in chronological age (Youngsters = 45.30 ± 2.11 years, Oldies = 46.40 ± 3.00 years), but different in expert-rated visual facial age (Youngsters = 40.24 ± 2.61 years, Oldies = 58.16 ± 5.39 years).

皮肤凭借其独特的组织特征与可见的衰老征象，为衰老过程的研究提供了极具价值的模型。个体间皮肤衰老速率的异质性，为捕获多维度的年龄相关生物学变化提供了宝贵契机。本研究采用批量RNA测序（bulk RNA sequencing, RNA-seq）技术，对外观年龄与实际年龄存在差异的个体的多样皮肤特征展开探究。
整体实验设计：本研究纳入25名年龄介于41~51岁的女性受试者，依据其视觉外观年龄与实际年龄的差异分为两组：外观较实际年龄至少年轻5岁者（n=10名女性），以及外观较实际年龄至少衰老5岁者（n=15名女性）。本Y-O研究的两组受试者时序年龄相近（年轻组：45.30±2.11岁，年长组：46.40±3.00岁），但经专家评级的面部视觉年龄差异显著（年轻组：40.24±2.61岁，年长组：58.16±5.39岁）。