Age-associated changes in glutamine synthetase activity in WI-38 cells.
The human fibroblast cell line WI-38 shows a gradual decline in glutamine synthetase specific activity with increasing age in culture. However, the level of functional enzyme per cell does not change with age. Heat inactivation profiles indicate that glutamine synthetase from younger cell cultures is more heat labile than that from older cultures. A possible explanation for these observations is that alterations in the glutamine synthetase molecule occur with increasing age of WI-38 cells in culture.
D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000201:enzymology*; D005974:Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase / Q000378:metabolism*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans
D005974:Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase