Ageing of hamster embryo fibroblasts as the result of both differentiation and stochastic mechanisms.
Fibroblasts from hamster embryos were serially cultivated in vitro and their evolution followed from a morphological, physiological and biochemical point of view. After an exponential growth for about 20 passages, cells entered the ageing phase which ended up after 29-34 passages. From our observations, it seems that the arrest of growth results from two different phenomena: first, the typically fibroblastic cells may undergo a stochastic ageing process; second, some of these cells evolve into a terminal differentiation process, characterized by a different non-fibroblastic phenotype.
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002455:Cell Division; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006224:Cricetinae / Q000196:embryology; D005954:Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D013269:Stochastic Processes
D005954:Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase