Identification of cross-reactive antibodies for the detection of lymphocytes, myeloid cells an haematopoietic precursors in the naked mole rat

The naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber, NMR) is a rodent with exceptional longevity, low rates of age-related diseases and spontaneous carcinogenesis. The NMR represents an attractive animal model in longevity and cancer research, but there are no NMR-specific antibodies available to study its immune system with respect to age- and cancer-related questions. Substantial homology of major NMR immune cell markers with those of Guinea pig, human and, to a lesser extent, mouse and rat origin are implicated for the existence of immunological cross-reactivity. We identified 10 antibodies recognising eight immunophenotypic markers expressed on the NMR's T and B lymphocytes, macrophages/monocytes and putative haematopoietic precursors and used them for an immunophenotyping of leukocyte subsets of peripheral blood, spleen and bone marrow samples. Overall, we found that the leukocyte composition of NMR peripheral blood is comparable to that of mice. Notably, the frequency of cytotoxic T cells was found to be lower in the NMR compared to corresponding mouse tissues and human blood. Antibodies used in the present paper are available either commercially or from the scientific community and will provide new opportunities for the NMR as a model system in ageing- and cancer-related research areas.