Functional analysis and transcriptome profile of meninges and skin fibroblasts from human‐aged donors

• Published in: Cell proliferation Vol. 57; no. 8; pp. e13627 - n/a
• Main Authors: Fantini, Valentina, Ferrari, Riccardo Rocco, Bordoni, Matteo, Spampinato, Eleonora, Pandini, Cecilia, Davin, Annalisa, Medici, Valentina, Gagliardi, Stella, Guaita, Antonio, Pansarasa, Orietta, Cereda, Cristina, Poloni, Tino Emanuele
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.08.2024; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Adenosine monophosphate; Aged; Brain; Cell culture; Cells, Cultured; Central nervous system; Colforsin - pharmacology; Cyclic AMP; Cyclic AMP - metabolism; Female; Fibroblasts; Fibroblasts - cytology; Fibroblasts - metabolism; Fibronectin; Forskolin; Functional analysis; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Humans; Immunofluorescence; Information processing; Male; Meninges; Meninges - cytology; Meninges - metabolism; Mesoderm; Metabolism; Middle Aged; Nestin; Nestin - genetics; Nestin - metabolism; Neural crest; Original; Skin; Skin - cytology; Skin - metabolism; Transcriptome; Transcriptomes; Tubulin; United States > US; Italy; Germany
• ISSN: 0960-7722; 1365-2184; 1365-2184
• DOI: 10.1111/cpr.13627

The central nervous system (CNS) is surrounded by three membranes called meninges. Specialised fibroblasts, originating from the mesoderm and neural crest, primarily populate the meninges and serve as a binding agent. Our goal was to compare fibroblasts from meninges and skin obtained from the same human‐aged donors, exploring their molecular and cellular characteristics related to CNS functions. We isolated meningeal fibroblasts (MFs) from brain donors and skin fibroblasts (SFs) from the same subjects. A functional analysis was performed measuring cell appearance, metabolic activity, and cellular orientation. We examined fibronectin, serpin H1, β‐III‐tubulin, and nestin through qPCR and immunofluorescence. A whole transcriptome analysis was also performed to characterise the gene expression of MFs and SFs. MFs appeared more rapidly in the post‐tissue processing, while SFs showed an elevated cellular metabolism and a well‐defined cellular orientation. The four markers were mostly similar between the MFs and SFs, except for nestin, more expressed in MFs. Transcriptome analysis reveals significant differences, particularly in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) metabolism and response to forskolin, both of which are upregulated in MFs. This study highlights MFs' unique characteristics, including the timing of appearance, metabolic activity, and gene expression patterns, particularly in cAMP metabolism and response to forskolin. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of non‐neuronal cells' involvement in CNS activities and potentially open avenues for therapeutic exploration. This work highlights distinct characteristics of meningeal (MFs) and skin (SFs) fibroblasts, derived from 6 subjects with neurocognitive disorders and normal old. MFs exhibit unique timing of appearance, metabolic activity, and gene expression patterns. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of fibroblasts in CNS activities, for possible therapeutic exploration.