Aging Unveiled: CHPs Reveal Widespread Tissue Damage and Reversible Collagen Breakdown in Aged Mice
27 Nov 2024
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Staining of collagen in multiple organs with Biotin-conjugated Collagen Hybridizing Peptides (B-CHPs). The black and white panels are an extraction of the fluorescent peptide signal, used for quantification of collagen damage.
The universal process of aging involves the dysregulation of a wide spectrum of biological mechanisms. Using mouse models, DeLano et. al highlight the role of enzymatic autodigestion of tissues as a function of aging. They show in mice that digestive enzymes leak out of the pancreas and intestine and accumulate in other organs, where they damage the extracellular matrix (ECM). This injury to the ECM can often be quantified by measuring the levels of damaged collagen in these organs.
Collagen degradation is a hallmark of aging. Damaged collagen can be visualized and quantified by Biotin-conjugated Collagen Hybridizing Peptides (B-CHPs). CHPs selectively hybridize to damaged collagen. Streptavidin-conjugated fluorescent dye markers allow for visualization of the damaged collagen. In this study, researchers examined collagen damage in a number of organs. Using B-CHPs, they showed higher collagen damage in old mice (24 months) than young mice (4 months) in the skin, intestine, lung, liver, heart, kidney and brain (shown in the Figure).
Interestingly, they show that this phenotype can be reversed in old mice by blocking the leakage of digestive enzymes into these organs. This study employs a reliable and widely tested application of CHPs: detecting damaged collagen. This CHP utility is highlighted by the wide range of tissues that were successfully probed. Overall, CHP usage convincingly demonstrated the significant increase of damaged collagen in organs of aged mice compared to the organs of young mice.
DeLano, Frank A, and Geert W Schmid-Schönbein. “Aging by autodigestion.” PloS one vol. 19,10 e0312149. 17 Oct. 2024, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0312149
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