Senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity marks the visceral endoderm of mouse embryos but is not indicative of senescence
Student Authors
Tingting HuangUMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Cell and Developmental BiologyDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2014-03-28Keywords
SA-β-galapical vacuoles
embryo
mouse
yolk sac
Cell Biology
Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Developmental Biology
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity is widely used as a marker of cellular senescence and as an indicator of organismal aging. Here, we report that SA-β-gal activity is present in the visceral endoderm layer of early postimplantation mouse embryos in predictable patterns that vary as the embryo progresses in development. However, determination of the mitotic index and analysis of the expression of Cdkn1a (p21), a marker of senescent cells, do not indicate cellular senescence. Instead, analysis of embryos in culture revealed the presence of SA-β-gal activity in apical vacuoles of visceral endoderm cells likely a reflection of acidic β-galactosidase function in these organelles. SA-β-gal serves as a practical marker of the dynamics of the visceral endoderm that can be applied to developmental as well as functional studies of early mammalian embryos.Source
Huang T, Rivera-Pérez JA. Senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity marks the visceral endoderm of mouse embryos but is not indicative of senescence. Genesis. 2014 Feb 25. doi: 10.1002/dvg.22761. Link to article on publisher's websiteDOI
10.1002/dvg.22761Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/33326PubMed ID
24616249Related Resources
Link to article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/dvg.22761