title: A role for mitochondria as potential regulators of cellular life span.
abstract: We demonstrate that by simply raising extracellular pyruvate levels, and hence increasing metabolic supply, human diploid fibroblasts undergo a concentration-dependent induction of cellular senescence. Fibroblasts treated with pyruvate undergo a rapid growth arrest accompanied by elevated levels of the cell-cycle regulatory molecules p53, p21, and p16. These cells also exhibit a rise in mitochondrial oxidant production and a fall in intracellular glutathione levels. Exposure of pyruvate treated cells to the antioxidant and glutathione precursor N-acetylcysteine restores cell growth and reverses the increase in senescence-associated beta-galactosidase activity. Similarly, we demonstrate that by increasing mitochondrial number via retroviral-mediated expression of the mitochondrial biogenesis regulator PGC-1 there is also a reduction in cell growth and the more rapid induction of senescence. These results suggest that mitochondria appear to play a central role in regulating cellular life span.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Branch, NHLBI, NIH, Building 10/6N-240, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-1622, USA.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Toren
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Finkel
mesh_terms: D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000378:metabolism; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; D016213:Cyclins / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D016877:Oxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D019289:Pyruvic Acid / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; C493956:CDKN1A protein, human; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; D016213:Cyclins; D016877:Oxidants; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D019289:Pyruvic Acid; D001616:beta-Galactosidase; D000111:Acetylcysteine