title: Early-senescing human skin fibroblasts do not demonstrate accelerated telomere shortening.
abstract: Most normal mammalian cell lines demonstrate limited growth capacity due to the gradual accumulation of senescent cells in the culture. Senescent cells appear initially at a low incidence, but with increasing frequency as the culture accumulates more divisions. Because it has been suggested that senescence is regulated by telomere shortening in human cells, we compared the telomere lengths of the subpopulation of senescent cells, present in presenescent cultures, with those of young cells. Senescent cells were separated from young cycling cells by either bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation followed by Hoechst dye and light treatment or DiI staining followed by separation on a high-speed cell sorter. Our results demonstrate that telomeres of early-senescing cells are the same length, and must shorten at the same rate, as cycling sister cells in the culture. Therefore, senescent cells in young mass cultures occur as a result of a stochastic, nontelomere-dependent process that we have described: sudden senescence syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Ruder Bosković Institute, Bijenicka 54, Zagreb 10000, Croatia.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferenac
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Polancec
authors.forename: Miljenko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huzak
authors.forename: Olivia M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Pereira-Smith
authors.forename: Ivica
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rubelj
mesh_terms: D000963:Antimetabolites / Q000494:pharmacology; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine / Q000494:pharmacology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D002469:Cell Separation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D003720:Densitometry; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology*; D016615:Telomere / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D000963:Antimetabolites; D004247:DNA; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine