Researchers at the University of Tokyo Metropolitan have created a new way to tell “old” human cells separate from the youth using electric fields. While the major markers have been found for these “cassesant” cells, current methods require a biochemical “label”, which is difficult to apply and affect the cells themselves, making them difficult to study. The new method is label-free and less harmful. The aim of the team is to diversify the method, to extend it to other cell types.

Age starts at cellular level. As we grow older, old or “cassesant” cells accumulate in our body. Not only these cells have lost most of their original function, but they emit the compounds that trigger SwellingThere is a growing body of evidence for how they play a role in arterial conditions such as arterial strict, Alzheimer’s disease and type 2 diabetes.

To understand and treat such diseases, scientists need to hold a grip of how the scent cells affect our physiology. Naturally, it begins with identifying which of our cells are centers, and which are not. Unfortunately, existing methods rely on the selective “labeling”, such as the attachment of a fluorescent molecule for specific compounds present in old cells. Not only is this time taking and complex, but this process itself can change the qualities of the study of scientists who want to study scientists.

To achieve this issue, a team led by Assistant Professor EPP Yagi, University of Tokyo Metropolitan, has come up with a completely different approach to identify the sensent cells. Instead of a chemical label, they insert cells under an alternative electric field. This causes a slight resurrection of charge, where one end of the cell is charged more positively than the other. When the electric field is not the same in the space, the cell migrates; In the case of an alternative area, the cell wanders back and forth between the electrodes. As the frequency of the area changes, the speed of the cell changes significantly at the known value as cutoff frequency. The method, known as frequency-comprehensive dialectrophoresis (FM-DEP), aims to mark the cell type by measuring this value.

The team focused its efforts on the human dermatic fibroblast, which is an important part of the connective tissue in the skin. When he tested the censent cells against small people, he found that there was a marked difference in his cutoff frequencies. These changes come from changes in fatty (lipid) molecules that form the membrane of cells. Importantly, FM-DEP is rapid, easy to apply, and label-free.

The new method is not only a convenient tool for research in aging, but can see the application for regenerative therapy, and drug screening. The team is expected to apply FM-DEP on other cell types, as a versatile new approach to cell identification.

This work was supported by JSPS Kakenhi Grants Number JP23K28453 and JP23Kkkkk0260.