Generation and characterization of two immortalized dermal fibroblast cell lines from the spiny mouse (Acomys).

The spiny mouse (Acomys) is gaining popularity as a research organism due to its phenomenal regenerative capabilities. Acomys recovers from injuries to several organs without fibrosis. For example, Acomys heals full thickness skin injuries with rapid re-epithelialization of the wound and regeneration of hair follicles, sebaceous glands, erector pili muscles, adipocytes, and dermis without scarring. Understanding mechanisms of Acomys regeneration may uncover potential therapeutics for wound healing in humans. However, access to Acomys colonies is limited and primary fibroblasts can only be maintained in culture for a limited time. To address these obstacles, we generated immortalized Acomys dermal fibroblast cell lines using two methods: transfection with the SV40 large T antigen and spontaneous immortalization. The two cell lines (AcoSV40 and AcoSI-1) maintained the morphological and functional characteristics of primary Acomys fibroblasts, including maintenance of key fibroblast markers and ECM deposition. The availability of these cells will lower the barrier to working with Acomys as a model research organism, increasing the pace at which new discoveries to promote regeneration in humans can be made.

刺毛鼠（Acomys）因其惊人的再生能力而作为一种研究生物越来越受欢迎。刺毛鼠能从多个器官的损伤中恢复且无纤维化。例如，刺毛鼠能使全层皮肤损伤愈合，伤口快速重新上皮化，毛囊、皮脂腺、立毛肌、脂肪细胞和真皮再生且无疤痕。了解刺毛鼠再生的机制可能会揭示人类伤口愈合的潜在疗法。然而，获取刺毛鼠种群是有限的，而且原代成纤维细胞在培养中只能维持有限的时间。为了解决这些障碍，我们使用两种方法生成了永生化的刺毛鼠真皮成纤维细胞系：用SV40大T抗原转染和自发永生化。这两种细胞系（AcoSV40和AcoSI - 1）保持了原代刺毛鼠成纤维细胞的形态和功能特征，包括关键成纤维细胞标志物的维持和细胞外基质（ECM）的沉积。这些细胞的可获取性将降低将刺毛鼠作为一种模式研究生物的障碍，加快促进人类再生的新发现的速度。