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Stochastic Variation in Telomere Shortening Rate Causes Heterogeneity of Human Fibroblast Replicative Life Span

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Carmen Martin-RuizORCiD, Dr Gabriele Saretzki, Jessie Jeyapalan, Professor Thomas von Zglinicki

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Abstract

The replicative life span of human fibroblasts is heterogeneous, with a fraction of cells senescing at every population doubling. To find out whether this heterogeneity is due to premature senescence, i.e. driven by a nontelomeric mechanism, fibroblasts with a senescent phenotype were isolated from growing cultures and clones by flow cytometry. These senescent cells had shorter telomeres than their cycling counterparts at all population doubling levels and both in mass cultures and in individual subclones, indicating heterogeneity in the rate of telomere shortening. Ectopic expression of telomerase stabilized telomere length in the majority of cells and rescued them from early senescence, suggesting a causal role of telomere shortening. Under standard cell culture conditions, there was a minor fraction of cells that showed a senescent phenotype and short telomeres despite active telomerase. This fraction increased under chronic mild oxidative stress, which is known to accelerate telomere shortening. It is possible that even high telomerase activity cannot fully compensate for telomere shortening in all cells. The data show that heterogeneity of the human fibroblast replicative life span can be caused by significant stochastic cell-to-cell variation in telomere shortening.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Martin-Ruiz C, Saretzki G, Petrie J, Ladhoff J, Jeyapalan J, Wei W, Sedivy J, Von Zglinicki T

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Biological Chemistry

Year: 2004

Volume: 279

Issue: 17

Pages: 17826-17833

ISSN (print): 0021-9258

ISSN (electronic): 1083-351X

Publisher: American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M311980200

DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M311980200

PubMed id: 14963037

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